Star Trek: Swiftfire: The Darkness Within
by The Sisko
Summary: The USS Swiftfire is part of the task force to reinforce Deep Space 9 following the Klingon Empire's attack on the station. The ship is soon clashing with Klingons along the border unaware that a darker force has set its site on one of the crew.
1. Prologue

**STAR TREK: SWIFTFIRE**

**_The Darkness Within_**

_Author's note: This was the first story written under the Swiftfire banner and occurs before the "series", which are represented here by being numbered.  
_

* * *

_Where am I? _thought Jonathan Masters. He looked around what appeared to be the bridge of a starship. His gaze fell on a man with a captain's rank who was looking straight at him. Jonathan realised that the captain had asked him something.

"Are you alright, Lieutenant?"

"Y-Yes, sir. I'm fine."

"You sure? You're looking unwell; perhaps you should take a trip to sickbay?"

He was just about to answer when another officer interrupted.

"Captain, a ship has exited warp nearby and is transmitting a distress signal."

"On screen," said the captain. The captain turned away from him and looked at the viewscreen. The viewscreen changed to show a green vessel with a roughly oval design. While Jonathan didn't recognise it he was sure that it was of Romulan design. Along the hull he spotted what looked like a number of impacts from weapons' fire.

"Looks Romulan," said the captain who he finally recognised as Captain Molloy.

Jonathan looked down at his console, which was the tactical station. He ran an identification scan on the vessel. "Sensors have identified it as a Romulan _Desara_ class freighter," he reported. "Her name, roughly translated, is the _Void Runner_."

"Hail it. This is Captain Peter Molloy of the _USS Sherman _to _Void Runner_, what is the emergency?"

A Romulan appeared on screen. He looked like he had got into a fight with a Klingon and had lost. _"Captain we request asylum from the Romulan Star Empire."_

Jonathan suddenly remembered where he was. He was on the bridge of the _USS Sherman_ in the Hyralan system. They were here undertaking a routine scientific survey of the twin stars in the binary system. These new events however had a sense of familiarity, as if they had already happened. He looked at the captain and could see that he was clearly surprised by what was happening, in fact the entire bridge was surprised, a feeling he did not share.

The Romulan started to speak again, _"Our vessel has taken heavy damage and our warp core is destabilising. We would appreciate it if you could beam us off this vessel before it explodes."_ As the Romulan finished something exploded behind him and the transmission turned to static.

"Report," ordered Captain Molloy.

"Their warp core is fluctuating and caused their communication system to overload," said another officer.

"How many people on that ship?"

"I'm picking up seventy-three lifesigns."

"Immediately start beaming them into one of the cargo bays. Commander, take a security team to meet them and secure that bay, I don't want Romulans running around my damn ship! Get the doctor to organise a medical team to meet with the commander, they look like they will need some medical assistance."

The first officer acknowledged his order and hurried off the bridge issuing orders as he went.

"Captain, the fluctuations in their warp core are causing interference with the transporters. I need more power to compensate."

"Engineering, transfer all power from non-essential systems to transporters," said Captain Molloy.

Jonathan's eyes wandered over the console until he saw the shield status display. He stopped and stared at it. The shields were down to allow transport but for some reason he felt the need to bring the shields online immediately and to power up the ship's weapons. It didn't make sense, the freighter was no threat to the ship and there was nothing else on sensors but he couldn't shake the need to prepare for battle.

"Just a bit more power…nearly got them…come on, come on…YES! Transporters are locking on and the transfer has begun."

He monitored the transfer from his console. Everything was going fine, in fact it was going better then he expected. The Romulans were quickly being evacuated from the stricken vessel, but he still couldn't shake the unease he felt.

"Transfer complete. Looks like it was just in time, their warp core has gone critical. Ten seconds until it explodes."

"Raise shields. Helm, bring us about and head way from the vessel, full impulse," ordered the Captain.

Jonathan quickly turned raised the shields. He looked up at the viewscreen just in time to see the Romulan ship explode. The shock wave hit the _USS Sherman_ and rocked the vessel.

"Report!" ordered Molloy.

Checking the readings on his console Jonathan reported, "Shields are at 20%. No significant damage."

The ship had not had much time to get some distance between it and the Romulan vessel and the force of the explosion and depleted the shields significantly.

There was a sudden alarm that brought Jonathan's attention to the viewscreen. The view of space seemed to waver as a Romulan Warbird appeared and opened fire. The force of the impact threw him from his feet.

"Damage report," yelled the captain over various alarms.

Jonathan stumbled back to his console. "Port shields were breached but are back up. We have various hull breaches along the port side and the port torpedo tube is offline. It also looks like some of the torpedoes exploded we have a massive hull breach, five decks tall on the side of the ship. Main deflector is barely functioning."

"Captain, the Warbird is hailing us," said replied a shocked officer.

"On screen."

Jonathan looked at the view screen and a smug Romulan Commander appeared on the screen.

"_Captain I believe you have something I want,"_ said the Romulan.

"And what would that be?" replied Captain Molloy.

"_The crew and passengers of the freighter that exploded a couple of seconds ago. They are criminals and terrorists. They need to return to Romulus to face trial for their crimes."_

"I'm sorry but they were killed, in the explosion. They attacked my ship so I had no other option left but to destroy them," lied the captain.

The Romulan's face didn't change. _ "Now, now Captain. What do you take me for? I'm not a Klingon savage!" _The Romulan looked to someone out of view._ "Plus there are no weapon signatures in the vicinity. So if you'd please transport the criminals to my ship immediately, I think I've shown that the Romulan Empire will not tolerate the shielding of criminals."_

"Of course, I would hate to stand in the way of Romulan justice. But your attack has damaged our transporters and we can't beam them out," replied Captain Molloy.

"_That's fine. I'll beam them over myself."_

"Of course that would be fine, but emergency shields are up where the Romulan criminals are and we need time to bring them down without killing them."

The Romulan's expression turned sour. _"How…unfortunate. You have ten minutes to have them ready to be handed over. If they are not on my vessel by then, I will retrieve them myself."_

The Romulan disappeared and the viewscreen returned to showing the Warbird.

"We can't give him the Romulans, he'll just destroy us anyway," Jonathan argued.

"We're dead if we don't," replied another officer. "If we were on a _Galaxy_ class starship we could give them a run for their money."

"But we're not a _Galaxy_ class starship, just an _Excelsior_," said the captain. "We need options!"

Jonathan closed his eyes. This was so familiar. He could swear this had happened before. He opened his eyes and saw the bridge was empty.

"_Lieutenant, all escape pods and shuttles are away. Damn it! I'm coming back for you,"_ said an officer Masters recognised but couldn't name.

"No, if you come back you'll get yourself killed and a shuttle full of people." He didn't know why he said this. All he knew was he was going to die. "Tell the captain I'm sorry I stunned him. But I'm the best man to cover the escape pods."

The ship rocked and the transmission disappeared. The damage report showed that communications were now gone. The _Sherman_ was going to die and take him along with it.

He had few options. He stared at the intimidating Warbird. "They say dying alone is the worst way to go. I guess I'll just have to take a ship full of Romulans with me."

Jonathan moved to the helm station and powered up the impulse engines and the old _Excelsior_ surged forward. It didn't take long for the Romulans to guess what he was up to and a barrage of disrupter fire hit the ship. The shields collapsed and the plasma fire hit the hull, tearing it apart. But still the _Sherman_ charged at the Warbird. Jonathan grabbed the console in an effort to keep from flying across the room.

"SEE YOU IN HELL, YOU ROMULAN BASTARDS!" yelled Masters as the Warbird filled the viewscreen.

Moments before impact Jonathan felt the familiar tingle of a transporter wave wash over him. He appeared in a transporter room with several other Starfleet officers present. He looked around then collapsed. A female doctor appeared over him.

"How did you survive?" she asked.

"Y-Y-You'll be surprised at the amount of energy you can put into shields when you're the only one onboard."

"No." Her look turned deadly serious. "Death had you. You should have died. You didn't. You cheated death! Death isn't going to let you do that. It will take your friends, your family, until you give yourself to it."

"W-Who are you?"

The doctor stood taller and her features seemed to blur, until she had no recognisable features, except a darkness that spread all around her.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm Death. And Jonathan Masters, I'm coming for you."


	2. Chapter 1

Jonathan Masters shot straight up. He looked around panicked and saw he was in his quarters onboard the _USS Swiftfire_. His heart was pounding in his chest and he was sweaty, he got out of bed and made his way to his bathroom. He ran the tap in his sink and splashed the cool water onto his face. He lent heavily on the basin and looked into the mirror before him. His wet brown face glistened, water dripping from his well kept Van dyke styled goatee. He stared across into his own brown eyes trying to find a sense of calm in the unblinking eyes that stared back at him. Water, mixed with sweat stung his eyes forcing him to look away as he grabbed a towel to wipe his face dry. It had been six years since the Hyralan incident and he was still having nightmares about it. Though it wasn't surprising, he had nearly died that day. Like most dreams they were somewhat surreal and even though they were based in fact they weren't true to his actual memory of the event. The "death" character was a frequent member of his dreams. It was simply a manifestation of his guilt over what happened and what he had done that day, however knowing that didn't make it any less disturbing.

Masters' computer beeped to signal an incoming transmission and nearly gave him a heart attack.

"Commander Masters," he said.

"_Commander, report to the bridge."_

Masters got into his uniform and hurried to the bridge.

"Good of you to join us, Commander," said Captain Jeri Allston. She gave Jonathan a close look. "Are you okay, Commander?"

"Yes, just had a restless night, that's all."

Allston blue eyes narrowed as if she was studying Masters and considering whether to push for more information. Her face then softened, obviously deciding not to press her first officer.

"Fifteen minutes ago we received orders from Admiral Hastur to join his task force, which is heading for Deep Space Nine."

"Isn't that the station at the mouth of the…Bajoran wormhole?" he asked.

"The very same."

Deep Space 9 had gone from insignificant backwater station to one of the most important outposts in the Alpha Quadrant in only a few short years. This was thanks to the discovery in the Bajoran system of the first stable wormhole that could send a ship to the other side of the galaxy. It had started out as an incredible opportunity for exploration but that had been tempered by contact with the Dominion, a vast and powerful empire located in the Gamma Quadrant near that exit of the wormhole.

"So when do we join the task force?"

"Twenty minutes," said Captain Allston. Jonathan started to ask why but was cut off by the Captain. "Before you say "why" I'll answer the question. The Klingons are going to attack the station. The USS_ Defiant_ rescued the Cardassian Detapa council from the Klingons, so we believe they well try and capture the council and one of our major assets in the sector. So Starfleet Command is sending a task force to help defend the station."

Masters shook his head in disbelief. "This is getting out of control. First the Klingons go to war with the Cardassians and now they look like they want to go to war with us! This quadrant is falling apart!"

"You won't get any arguments from me. This is probably exactly what the Dominion wants. Mark my words we'll be at war with them much sooner then any of us would like."

Twenty minutes later the helm officer reported that they were exiting warp. Five other ships were waiting for them, a _Galaxy_ class, two other _Excelsiors_, a _Miranda_ and a _Nebula_ class starships.

"We are getting coordinates to move into formation," replied the conn officer.

"We are being hailed," said the operations officer.

"Put us in formation, Lieutenant Owen. Ensign Rennie, put the transmission onscreen," ordered Captain Allston.

A grey haired male admiral appeared on screen.

"It's good to see you Admiral Hastur. I have to say I was expecting more ships," said Captain Allston.

"_Good to see you to, Captain. This is all Starfleet can gather on such short notice. Command is rerouting more ships to the area but we can't wait for them, he have to go now. As soon as you're in formation we will depart for DS9."_

"As ordered, Admiral."

The admiral ended the transmission.

"We are in position. Receiving course information from the _USS Venture_. Course set," said Owen.

Admiral Hastur's voice sounded over the ships speakers. _"All ships, stay in formation. Warp 9…Engage."_

Almost simultaneously the taskforce jumped to warp.

After a few minutes the Captain started issuing orders.

"Commander, start issuing the crew phasers. Lieutenant, prepare weapons and shields. Doctor, ready sickbay for causalities, all right people we have a while until we get to Deep Space 9, make sure you know your jobs."

The crew got to work. Masters left the bridge and organised issuing phasers to the crew and phaser rifles to security personnel who were posted to various parts of the ship.

Time seemed to slow down and it seemed like years before they were near Deep Space 9.

"I'm detecting ships, ma'am," said their Andorian tactical officer.

"Klingon?"

"Yes, a lot of them. I now have the station."

"Damage report."

"Can't tell from this far out, but its shields appear to be down."

"_This is Admiral Hastur to all ships. Raise shields and ready weapons. Drop out of warp in fifteen minutes. You are authorised to fire on any Klingon warship attacking the station."_

"You heard him," said the captain.

Before the ships even dropped out of warp the tactical officer announced some surprising news, "The Klingons! They're retreating towards Cardassia!"

Master leaped up and checked the officer's console. "Giser's right! The Klingon fleet is in retreat."

A cheer broke out on the bridge.

"Calm down, we still don't know if the people on the station are okay," said Captain Allston.

"Captain, we're getting a transmission from the _Venture_."

"_We seem to have arrived just in time. The station is still in our hands and mostly intact. Each ship will be given their specific orders soon. Admiral Hastur out."_

The _Swiftfire_ received its new orders. "Captain, our orders are to scan the wreckage for any survivors. Once that is done we have been granted permission to dock with the station."

The bridge crew mutter in excitement about getting to go and experience the station. That mood was soon dampened by the grim task of inspecting the debris from the battle. The station had been a formidable opponent and numerous Klingon ships had been destroyed. The _Swiftfire_ did not find one survivor in the wreckage, a chilling testament to the lethality of the station. Though they also suspected the Klingons would have done a quick search and rescue before falling back.

Following an extensive four hour search the _Swiftfire_ docked with DS9. The first off were Captain Allston along with Masters. They were met by a red haired, Bajoran Militia Major and a black haired Trill.

The Major shook the Captain's hand and said, "Welcome to Deep Space 9 Captain Allston and…"

"This is my First officer Commander Jonathan Masters."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Major Kira and this is…"

"Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax," Masters interrupted.

"Oh, you've met?" asked Major Kira.

"Yes we have," said Dax. "It's good to see you Jono, it's been too long."

Dax embraced Masters, which was not the usual greeting between officers but Dax had her own style. It had been several years since Masters was in the same place as Jadzia.

Masters smiled widely at Dax as their hug ended. "You too."

Kira smiled; obviously she was use to this kind of thing from Dax. "If you'll follow me, Captain Sisko would like to see you."

The four officers made their way from the airlock.

Captain Allston looked at Masters. "So where did you meet…"

"Dax?" Masters said. "Back when I was on the USS_ Sherman, _we returned to Earth for a refit of the warp core and while I was at Starfleet Headquarters I ran into Dax. I'm not speaking figuratively. I was running to catch a transport and I rounded the corner and ran into her. After introductions she told me she was going where I was going and she had a shuttle. So she offered me a ride."

"Where were you going?" asked Allston.

"London, England," said Dax. "I'm sorry for interrupting but I have to make sure he doesn't get the facts mixed up with fiction," she finished with a sly grin on her face.

Allston raised her eyebrows at that comment and gave Masters a look to continue.

"I was going to England to see friends and since I had been there before and Dax hadn't, she conned me into giving her a free guided tour."

"Actually, Jadzia had never been there. Dax has visited that part of Earth a number of times. It seems like a lifetime since that week."

"Wouldn't it be more like six lifetimes?" joked Masters. When he first met Jadzia she had not yet been joined.

They boarded one of the station's turbolifts. Dax and Masters stood on opposite sides of Allston while Major Kira stood slightly ahead of them.

"Seven actually." Jadzia must have noticed the questioning look on Masters' face. "Long story. Anyway, I was a young innocent tourist and he was the older local who showed me the wonders of his planet."

Allston gave Masters an interesting look. "Really?"

Masters felt his cheeks get hot. "We were both young officers who enjoyed each others company," he explained.

Jadzia lent closer to Allston and in a purposely loud whisper said, "Let's just say he knows how far my spots go and where they go." Dax added a wink to enhance the meaning.

Allston had a huge smile on her face, no doubt thanks to the embarrassment that appeared on her first officer's face. Masters thought his face was going to explode into flames. It didn't really help that it seemed that Major Kira was having a chuckle in front of him.

"Seriously, Jono and I have been friends since then, which I am thankful for. Getting joined often can have a negative effect on pre-joined relationships due to personality changes in the host thanks to the combining of memories from previous hosts," she patted Masters' shoulder.

They ascended all the way to the station's operations centre. Kira led them into Captain Sisko's office.

"Captain, this is Captain Jeri Allston and Commander Jonathan Masters from the USS_ Swiftfire_."

"Thank you Major," said Captain Sisko.

Major Kira turned and smiled politely at the two officers before leaving the room to wait outside with Dax. Sisko stood and shook hands with Allston and then with Masters.

"I would like to thank you and your crew for assisting DS9,' said Sisko.

"We really didn't do much, Captain," replied Allston.

"Your arrival caused the Klingons to retreat from the area, hence saving the station. I just want to thank you and tell you that the station facilities are yours to use and if there is anything I or my crew could do for you, just ask."

"Why thank you, Captain," said Allston. She looked around. "This is a tough station."

"Yes, she is. The only good thing the Cardassians did was building this station to take a beating. Do enjoy your rest on DS9. You're likely to be spending a lot of time here in the future."

* * *

Odo looked outside his office into the promenade, which was teaming with unfamiliar Starfleet officers. He grumbled. As the station's head of security it was his job to make sure that there was no trouble. But with so many new faces on the station it would be hard for him to keep track of the lawbreakers. Few Starfleet officers were criminal, most were in fact law-abiding citizens, but there would be the few that dealt in illegal substances or enjoy a few too many refreshments at Quarks' and ended up coursing a scene.

Odo turned on his office computer and saw that another ship had docked with the station. This was the fourth ship today. He grumbled some more as he brought up its details.

The ship was the USS_ Swiftfire_. It was an _Excelsior_ class starship, one of the more common Starfleet designs. It was a fairly large ship and it had a crew of hundreds.

Odo felt surprise over the ships registry number. It was unusually high for a ship of that class. He noted this fact for future reference and brought up the crew manifest.

Odo had to admit that the Federation's liberal view on the freedom of information was something very refreshing after serving under the Cardassians. It was relatively easy to get information on people, which made his job that much easier. He was granted a fairly high security clearance to the station's computer, a status he never enjoyed under the Cardassians.

All Federation worlds and stations were connected by subspace communication and that meant they could share information quickly and easily between each other as they all served as nodes in what was basically a quadrant wide network. If the information he needed wasn't in the stations database he could search for it from other sources in the network. The only real issue was the pure volume of information available, it could make searching for relative facts very difficult. There was also the time it took for some information to travel the vast distances between stars but Odo was a patient individual, so that rarely bothered him.

In this case he could get the information directly from the docked vessel. A simple result for access to personnel records and in less then ten seconds he had that information available on his console in his security office. He didn't have the time to go through hundreds of personnel files so he normally just searched them for keywords and just viewed the files of the ranking officers on the vessels docked. If their crew did cause problems it would be these people that Odo would have to ultimately deal with.

He brought up the records for Captain Jeri Allston. She was quite a striking woman, despite not being humanoid Odo had spent enough time around them to know what generally constituted beauty for species such as Bajorans, Humans and even Cardassians. Odo moved past her image and started to check her history and profile. She was a dedicated Starfleet officer with years of service, including over twenty years service on the _Swiftfire_, though not all as captain. He highly doubted that she would cause him any problems and from what he read he was sure any dealing with her would not be a problem.

Next was Commander Jonathan Masters. As Odo checked a small section caught his eye. There was a strange gap in his information. In 2366 he was involved in something called the Hyralan incident and then he was listed as non-active until later in 2367 when he was assigned to the USS_ Bonestell_. There was nothing to explain why he was non-active at that point.

Odo checked to make sure that the file transferred to his computer was complete, that nothing had been lost in the transfer. It seemed to be complete. Odo then decided to see if he could get the information from any other sources to compare with the information before him.

* * *

Several sectors away in the Albyn system Lieutenant Commander Sela has carefully carrying a cup of hot coffee to her duty station to keep her awake. She had an eight-hour graveyard shift and like always nothing happened. She noticed a flashing light on her console. She carefully made her why to her console put her cup down and checked to see what the signal was about. Someone had made a request for material connected to the section. Nothing too amazing, it happened from time to time. The material in question was nothing critical so she was about to dismiss it.

She then received another alert that there was another request for the same material. That was quickly followed by more requests, this time from different sources. Something was up.

"Hey! You guys get off your butts and back to your stations I think we have something."

There were four other people in the room who were currently involved in a game of poker.

"What?" asked one of the men.

"I have multiple cases of someone accessing the same file."

The four officers moved from their game to various stations in the room.

"Damn, I think you're right! Orders?"

Sela looked around no one else had entered the room making her the ranking office. She began issuing orders.

"Matt, trace the origin of the requests. Pam, I need you to record all the files they have accessed or are trying to. The rest of you just wait for further orders."

Sela watched the status reports on her screen. She wasn't sure what the person was doing. It didn't really make sense to her as to why someone would access multiple copies of the exact same files, if they were lucky it would end there. It seemed that luck was on their side and the requests stopped. She waited five minutes to make sure.

"Did you get a trace?" she asked.

Matt shook his head. "Not a complete one. They were using some sort of anti-tracing software to bounce any tracking around. Though I am sure it came from the Bajoran system, which puts Deep Space 9 as the most likely source."

"Just give me what you've got and Pam, give me the info on what our hacker was after. I'm going to have to put together a report for the Captain."

* * *

Odo grumbled to himself. He had not been able to find what he wanted. He had accessed several external databases of Starfleet personnel. He had hoped that the file was selectively edited depending on what level you accessed it from. That meant what Odo saw as nothing was actually something that had been blanked out of his view. He had made several requests using various different security levels, including one or two that he "official" didn't possess, but he hadn't found anything new.

The missing information wasn't even anything serious. It was just a mystery and Odo didn't like mysteries. He checked the rest of Masters' file and didn't find anything else suspicious.

There was really only one other way to get the information he wanted. He was going to have to ask the source. That caused problems because people could lie and everyone had something to hide.


	3. Chapter 2

"Anything on sensors, Lieutenant?" asked Captain Allston.

"Negative, sensors are all clear," answered Giser.

"Good. Owen, take us to our last set of coordinates." Captain Allston turned to Masters. "Is that problem fixed yet?"

He looked up from his console. "Engineering reports all systems working fine. Weapons are ready and the port shield fluctuations are now fixed."

"Good. Now I can sit back and relax," said Captain Allston.

Masters let out a quick laugh. For six hours the _Swiftfire_ had been on patrol. The crew were edgy and tense and the captain's joke was designed to try and relieve the tension then be overly funny. The situation with the Klingons was still a bit vague, while neither side had taken the next step to war the fact that the alliance was over and Deep Space 9 had been attacked was disturbing. He wasn't even sure what would happen if they ran across a Klingon warship! All he knew was Starfleet Command's orders were to proceed with caution in all interaction with Klingon Defence Force vessels. But their first patrol was almost over and it had thankfully been uneventful.

"There, our first patrol is done. Now we just have to wait for our replacement to arrive so we can go back to DS9," said Captain Allston.

Right on cue a starship exited out of warp near the _Swiftfire_.

"Is that a _Steamrunner_ class starship?" asked Ensign Rennie.

Masters looked at the ship on the viewscreen. It was an unusual ship. The saucer section was squarer then round; the warp nacelles were built into the saucer rather then connected by struts to the hull and at the rear of the vessel between the nacelles hung the main deflector. "It's a _Steamrunner_ alright, Willa," he confirmed to the young operations manager. "Must be part of the extra forces Starfleet Command has assigned to the area."

"They're hailing us," reported Rennie.

"On screen."

A Trill male appeared on the screen.

"USS Swiftfire_, this is Captain Yeltes of the _USS Stingray_. You're free to return to Deep Space 9; we'll take the patrols in this sector now. Anything to report?"_

"No. The Klingons, if they are around, are keeping quiet. Good luck on your patrol and be safe," said Captain Allston. The Trill disappeared and the _Steamrunner_ reappeared on the viewscreen and started to manoeuvre around the _Swiftfire_. "Helm, set a course for DS9. Warp 6, engage."

* * *

Once the ship returned to Deep Space 9 it took up position off the station. Masters, his shift over, retired to his quarters. The first thing he did was kick off his shoes and fall back on his bed. He lay still for several minutes before speaking. "Computer, any messages for me?"

"_You have one message from Lieutenant Commander Dax."_

It wasn't a critical communication otherwise he would have been notified about it sooner. That's if the message had been sent earlier and not just forwarded to the ship from the station once it came in close proximity to it. "Play message."

Dax's voice filled the room and Masters felt a wave of ease flow through him. _"Not sure if you'll be back from your patrol but if you are we're meeting at Quark's at 1900 tonight. So if you would like to join us feel free. I'll save you a seat."_

Masters checked to see what the current station time was. He had a couple of hours until the get together. He was tired and decided to grab a nap before he did anything else. Soon he was fast asleep.

_Jonathan looked around the ruined bridge. The _USS Sherman_ was doomed. He was doomed. If the Romulans expected him just to give up they would be sorely mistaken. He fired another three torpedoes and hit the Romulan ship's shields. The Warbird returned fire. Jonathan struggled to keep on his feet. He checked the shields. The shields still held. He had diverted all power except, weapons, life support on the bridge and thrusters into the shields, giving the ship the shield strength to weather the Warbird's assaults. Suddenly the viewscreen changed to show the Warbird's Commander._

"I congratulate you on your efforts, Jonathan."

_Jonathan looked startled. __How did the Romulan know his name?_

"Why don't you join me? You are mine anyway."

_Something wasn't right. Jonathan checked and found that the communication system had been destroyed._

"I have come for you."

_Jonathan looked up and saw it was the dark figure._

"_This isn't real," said Jonathan. "I don't fear you."_

_The figure seemed to smile and leaned forward. Jonathan realised it was coming through the viewscreen. Jonathan walked backwards and ran into the back of the bridge. He was trapped. It stretched out its hand, which was large enough to encompass Jonathan._

"_You should Jonathan. You should fear me."_

_The hand closed around Jonathan as he tried to scream._

Masters woke up with a start. It took him a second to realise where he was and that he had been dreaming.

"Computer, what is the station time?"

"_Please Specify."_

"Deep Space 9! What is the current time on Deep Space 9?"

"_The time is 1912."_

"Great, I'm late!"

He hurriedly threw on a new uniform rather then wearing the one he spent a shift in and had sweated up a storm in thanks to nightmares. He splashed on some cologne to mask the smell of sweat, he probably should have a shower but he remembered that Quark's had its own unique smell and hoped that plus the cologne would mask any stink from him.

He hurried out of his quarters to the nearest transporter room. When he arrived he found three junior crew members there waiting for transport.

"Yeah, Jono," said Ensign Owen. Masters wasn't on duty and had no problem with his subordinates calling him by his nickname. It was a little tip he learned from one of his superiors to help foster a closer relationship with the people you served and lived with. "Off to Quark's?"

"I am indeed. What about you, Gill? You all off to try your luck at the dabo tables?" he asked as he took a spot on the transporter pad.

Owen shrugged. "Might give it a go but we are mainly going because we have a reservation to use the holosuite."

"We have holodecks on board," pointed out Masters.

"Yeah, but they don't have Quark's unique collection of programs!" jumped in one of Owen's party.

"This is probably something I don't want to know about," stated Masters.

The transporter technician indicated that they had permission to leave and promptly transported them to the station.

When he arrived at the bar it was full of beings. Owen and his group continued on while he looked around for Dax. He finally spotted her sitting at a table with three others, two Starfleet personnel and a strange looking Bajoran officer. He made his way to the table.

"Sorry I'm late. I overslept," said apologised as he approached the table.

Dax turned. "Jonathan! Have a seat. This is Chief O'Brien." Dax pointed to a middle aged man with short, curly red hair. "This is Dr Bashir." She pointed to a young, somewhat roguish looking dark haired young man. "And this is Constable Odo."

Masters suddenly recognised Odo as the Station's Head of Security and the only Changeling to be on Starfleet's side.

"Hi, I'm Jonathan Masters," he said as he sat next to Dax. "Have you ordered drinks?"

"Not yet," said Dax. She motioned around the room. "It's pretty busy, as you can see. So we haven't being served yet."

"So Jonathan, what ship are you assigned to?" asked the chief.

"The _USS Swiftfire_. Was it Chief O'Brien?"

"Call me Miles. _Swiftfire_. _Excelsior_ class refit, it was docked on lower pylon three a day or so ago."

"The very same."

Odo spoke for the first time. "_USS Swiftfire_. NCC-76125, if I'm not mistaken."

"That's right," said Masters. He looked puzzled at Odo.

"I like to know who is going to be on my station," said Odo.

"NCC-76125! That's a very high registry number for an _Excelsior_," said Miles.

"Your right. A registry that high means it's fairly new, newer then the _Defiant_. I thought the _Excelsior_ class wasn't in production anymore," commented Bashir.

"They're not. The_ Swiftfire_ is actually fairly old built around sixty years ago," said Masters.

"Then why the high registry?" asked Dax.

"Story is back when it was being built someone entered the wrong registry into the shipyard's computers overseeing the construction. So as they built the ship the wrong registry number was placed on everything; cups, plates, wall, doors, everything. No one noticed until it was just about finished. To change the number to its real number would mean going through the entire ship and replacing every mention of the registry so they just decided to leave it and change the official number to 76125."

"How come no one noticed for so long?" asked Bashir.

"Think about it Julian, when you're building a starship you don't really notice the registry number. You have more important things to do."

The doctor nodded in agreement with O'Brien.

Odo turned his attention back to Masters. "So where did you serve before the _Swiftfire_?"

"You should already know Constable; you like to know who's on your station."

"But I like to make sure the information is correct."

"I was on the _USS Bonestell_."

"So you've been on the _Swiftfire_ for some time," said O'Brien.

"Why do you say that?"

O'Brien squirmed a bit uncomfortably in his seat. "She was a casualty during the Battle of Wolf 359 in 2366. You must have transferred off that ship before the battle given the entire crew was killed."

"Actually in 2366 I was on the _USS Sherman_. I joined the crew of the _Bonestell_ in 2367. It was _New Orleans_ class vessel that was built to replace the original, which was due to retire."

A gleam of realisation came to Bashir's eyes. "Wait, the _Sherman_…wasn't that the ship involved in the Hyralan Incident?"

It was Masters' turn to squirm in his seat. "The very same."

"I remember that. The _Sherman_ and a warbird got into a tussle over a bunch of Romulan asylum seekers. If I remember correctly didn't one of the crew single-handedly hold off the warbird allowing the crew and asylum seekers to escape?" said O'Brien.

Bashir clicked his fingers. "That's right! The person who took on the warbird was a Lieutenant Masters!"

"Was it…?" probed O'Brien.

Masters reluctantly nodded. O'Brien and Bashir looked impressed. Odo's expression didn't change. Masters tried to look nonchalant.

"Wow," said Bashir. "The hero of Hyralan, I'd love to here the events as you recall them."

Masters tried not to look uncomfortable as he tried to think of an excuse not to have to relive the tale. O'Brien seemed to notice and did his dirty work for him.

"Give the bloke a rest, Julian! He probably has to retell the story to every new person he meets."

Dax also weighed in. "Jono was nearly killed in the incident, Julian. It might be a fascinating story for us but it can't be pleasant to recall for him."

Bashir looked admonished. "I apologise, Commander. It was insensitive of me to insist you relive a traumatic moment."

"That's alright," said Masters, accepting Bashir's apology. "I was pretty badly injured. I nearly died; well that's what the starbase's doctors told me when I came too."

"Which starbase?" asked Odo. His tone reminded Jonathan of old cop movies where the Police were interviewing a suspect.

"Ummm…Starbase 212. I was in a coma for over six months there."

Odo brought fold his arms. He looked like he was thinking the story over.

"So what will it be today, the usual?"

Masters looked over his shoulder to see a Ferengi. O'Brien, Bashir and Dax nodded. Odo turned down the offer.

"What would you like, Commander?" asked the Ferengi.

"Just get him what I'm having, Quark," said Dax. "Don't worry its not anything poisonous."

So this was the owner of the bar. Masters was surprised to see him out during the job of a waiter. Dax and her friends must be good customers to get the personal attention of the head Ferengi.

"Do you remember anything about the time you were at Starbase 212?" asked Odo.

"Ah, no. I was in a coma," repeated Masters. "I did spend some time undergoing rehabilitation on the station before I left."

Odo seemed to analyse him for a second, distracting Masters. He then turned back to Quark.

"I'll just have what Jadzia is having," he said. Quark also gave Masters a strange look, his eyes quickly darting to Odo.

"Quark!" called O'Brien getting his attention. "Our drinks?"

A toothy smile came to Quark's face. "Of course. I'll be right back."

"I'd better go check the security reports," said Odo rising from his seat.

"Aren't you going to stay for a drink?" asked Bashir.

"I don't drink, doctor. Plus I don't like Quark knowing where I am for any length of time; he tends to take it as a sign to undertake one of his schemes."

Masters stood up. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Constable," he said stretching out his hand.

Odo took it. "You too, Commander." Odo's reply wasn't the most convincing one he had heard but he had trouble reading Odo's emotions so he couldn't tell if this wasn't just how Odo was.

* * *

Odo returned to his office and locked the door so not to be disturbed. He had interviewed many subjects in his time at this job and Odo was good at spotting when someone was lying, however with Commander Masters he could not. Either he was a very good liar or he was telling the truth and in Odo's experience everyone had something to hide. Odo sat down and switched on his computer. All he had to do now was check Starbase 212's records to see if Commander Masters was there or not.

* * *

Lieutenant Commander Sela turned as the door opened. A shiver ran down her spine as in walked Commander Ivan Domique. When the Admiral had received the news of the attempted breach he had immediately sent down the commander. The commander was what people in the section nicknamed an "enforcer". They were in fact special security personnel who dealt with breaches in security within the section.

She had only once seen another enforcer. That officer had appeared on the base four years ago with special orders for the command staff of this base. At least that was the only time she knew she had seen one. Enforcers were usually identifiable by special badges they wore on their collar but rumour was that enforcers frequently travelled around incognito keeping an eye on the section's assets.

Commander Domique was what several called a typical enforcer. He was above average height, highly muscular, and looked as hard as nails. He had a presence of power mixed with menace. He did not look like the type of person you wanted to upset.

He probably had some sort of Special Forces background given his appearance. Plus they were the type of people who could do his job, rough, tough beings with a furious tenacity and unquestionable loyalty. That was partly why people were nervous around them; you knew that they could take away everything you had. One word to the right person and you'd be out of the service forced to take a job as a ship's cook on a rundown independent freighter.

That was the life however. When you joined a highly classified division you could expect harsher examination and scrutiny. It was something Sela had come to accept, they worked on projects that could mean the different between life and death, between the Federations continual existence and it becoming just a footnote in galactic history. She was glad to be part of it, it was stressful but it was rewarding.

Sela's console beeped.

"Is it the same inquisitive soul?" he asked in a voice that sent chills down Sela's back.

"We think so. Though this time they are not looking at the same files but at information that is connected to subject 468," said Sela.

"Is the program ready, Lieutenant Mortlock?" asked Captain Sicilona.

Sela had forgotten the captain was there. Captain Visa Sicilona was in command of the starbase at Albyn IV. He was an aging male who had a reclining grey hair and was fairly bulky. He was fairly short and looked very tired. He had obviously had better days. While he outranked Commander Domique, enforcers answered only to the Admiral. So as long as Ivan was on the base he would be in charge of the facility.

"Yes. Ready and loaded," answered Mortlock.

"Very good, Pamela," said Domique. Mortlock appeared to shiver when he used her name; obviously she wasn't the only person he had that effect on. "How long until the trace is completed?" asked Domique.

"Around two minutes," replied Kefu. "We've taken into account his counter measures to divert a trace and we will get him or her this time."

The young ensign didn't seem as nervous to have an enforcer around. He seemed to be going out of his way to impress him. She put this down to him feeling guilty about his inability to identify the person with the first trace.

"Trace complete. Subject is in the Bajor system, station Deep Space 9. The most likely candidate is Constable Odo," reported Kefu.

"Ah, the Changeling Security Officer. I should have known he was behind this. Send the program."

"But, we have no proof he was the hacker. He hasn't done anything. He is looking at related information but nothing that is directly connected with his previous subject," argued Sela.

She saw the rest of the officers in the room freeze. Most of them looked panicked. At first she didn't know why, but then she realised that she had just argued with an Enforcer and had probably just earned herself a demotion and a quick exit from the section. She looked at Domique. He just stood there looking at her.

"If you insist Lieutenant Commander, we will wait for the proof. But I have no doubts he is behind it."

Everyone in the room released the breath they had been holding and went back to their work. Domique's tone showed that he was cocky and thought he was right. Sela wanted to throw up. Domique had only been on the station a few days and Sela found she couldn't stand his smug attitude.

Nearly a minuted past before one of the officers confirmed it.

"Commander, Odo is viewing records connected to the subject."

"Like I said. Lieutenant Commander, send the program."

* * *

It took Odo a few minutes before he found any records on Commander Masters. Odo viewed Jonathan's injures and while they were serious he was surprised that they had resulted in a coma that lasted over six months, but that is what the records indicated with the dates he was admitted to the facility to the date he was released. He viewed a more detailed report of Masters' treatment and noticed something odd. After about a month and a half the report showed that the same doctor visited Masters regularly at the same time for about four months before any change in doctor or the time they checked up on him. On a hunch he checked the patient log for Masters' room and found something. A few days after the strange pattern of visits started for Masters the starbase's records indicated that another person was assigned to the room, which was meant for one patient. Odo knew there was more going on.

Odo used one of "his" higher security clearances to gain access to a higher level of information. He checked the records and found an unusual security stamp on some of the documents he viewed that hadn't appeared on the general view files. These stamps indicated that something had been removed from the file and the code of the stamp usually indicated who had removed it. Odo checked the code, it wasn't one he recognised. It did match the codes used by Starfleet Security, Federation Council, Starfleet Intelligence or Starfleet Command, or at least not one of the codes Odo knew about.

His computer seemed to slow down as it scrolled through the information. Then it just froze. Odo tried to get the screen to unfreeze but it wouldn't. Suddenly the screen started to flicker and Odo heard it make a low hum and there was a pop noise. His screen then went blank. Odo tried to get it back on but it would not respond. He looked around and all the screens were down in his office.

Odo tapped his combadge. "Ops, this is Odo I seem to be having some computer problems. Can you get someone to the security office immediately?"

"_Someone is on their way now, sir."_

A Starfleet engineer was soon in his office.

"What is the problem?" he asked.

"I don't know that's why I call you."

The engineer didn't look too impressed with Odo's reply. He put down his toolkit and pulled out his tricorder and scanned. "One of the relays blew. There must have been a power surge."

"Can you fix it?"

"Easily."

The engineer opened up one of the wall panels and started to fiddle around. It took only a few minutes and all the computers and monitors came back online. Odo went to bring up some of the information he had been viewing.

"I seem to be missing some information," he said to the technician.

"The surge probably reset some of the memory buffers. You would have lost any information you were working on when the surge occurred."

Odo continued to check on his files. He tried to open files from the last day, none would open, instead he received a "file corrupted" message.

"What about this?" he asked the technician.

The technician had a look "The surge must have damaged the security office's computer, corrupted recent files or data blocks. I'll inform the chief tomorrow and see if he can retrieve any of the information for you."

"Tomorrow?"

"He's at Quark's, sir. I doubt he'd be in the right frame of mind to repair the waste extraction system."

Odo sighed, he would have to wait. "Thank you, crewman."

This seemed to be an odd coincidence that he had possibly lost all data relating to his inquiries into Masters past. What happened could have been a message that someone didn't appreciate Odo poking his nose around. Odo decided to take it that way and stop, it wasn't critical to station security for him to find out about Masters past and he did have more then enough work already. In a way he had his answer. Masters file had been amended and that was the reason for the unusual gap. Mystery solved Odo decided not to waste any more time on it.

* * *

"The program executed successfully," said Lieutenant Mortlock.

Sela watched for any more inquiries on subject 468 and several minutes passed without any. "Still no more activity."

"Excellent. Captain, prepare me a shuttle," said Commander Domique.

"May I inquire your destination?" asked the captain.

"Why, where else but Deep Space 9."

"Why go there? We sent the program," asked Sela.

"My investigation is not over, Commander. I need to see why he has been making his inquiries. We might have stopped him for the moment but he might continue and if he does it would be helpful for me to be nearby to _explain_ to him why he shouldn't."


	4. Chapter 3

Four days later the _Swiftfire_ was on another patrol along the Cardassian border.

"Well, you know what they say, "The sign of a perfect mission is that it's boring", eh Commander?" said Captain Allston.

The _Swiftfire's_ patrol was again an uneventful affair. The Klingons were remaining very quiet in and around the Bajor sector.

"True, but it would have been nice to at least detect a Klingon ship on sensors."

Suddenly alarm klaxons went berserk. The tactical officer yelled, "Ship decloaking directly ahead!"

"Raise shields!" Masters ordered quickly.

The tension level on the bridge skyrocketed and everyone visibly tensed as a _K't'inga_ class battle cruiser appeared on the viewscreen. To Masters' pleasant surprise it didn't immediately open fire.

"Report," ordered the captain.

"One battle cruiser, shields raised, weapons offline. Computer has identified it as the _IKS Ma'toph_," reported Lieutenant Giser.

"They're hailing us," said Rennie.

"A Klingon who wants to talk, this should be interesting. Put him though."

The viewscreen displayed the Klingon captain.

"_Federation vessel, you have trespassed on Klingon territory."_

"This space is not Klingon territory. The Cardassian border is located…"

"_There is NO Cardassian border here, female! This space has been claimed as part of the Klingon conquered territories. You are now 100,000 kilometres within Klingon space."_

"The Federation does not recognise Klingon ownership of the space it has conquered nor does it recognise any changes to the previously established borders with the Cardassian Union," said Allston.

"_Do you think I care what your snivelling Council recognises? This is KLINGON territory now. You have trespassed! You will power down you vessel and prepare to be boarded."_

"You have no right too…"

The Klingon slammed his palms on the armrests of his chair. _"We are KLINGONS we do what we please! This is your last warning, surrender or die."_

"Look, we did not know about the change of the border. We agree to leave your territory and will advise Starfleet about…"

"_I believe I have a much clearer message for you Starfleet Command," _said the Klingon before cutting the transmission.

"This isn't good," said Masters.

"I agree. Helm, reverse course put some distance between us and the Klingons."

"They are powering weapons!" said tactical.

"Don't do the same! Helm, swing us around and prepare to go to warp. Hopefully the Klingons are just beating their chests. Lieutenant, get a message to Command, inform them of our…"

Before the captain could finish ship rocked.

"They have opened fire! Shields at 90%." The ship rocked again. "Shields at 76%!"

"Damn Klingons! Power to weapons, Lieutenant th'Hist. Target the battle cruiser and try to disable it."

The _Swiftfire_ was still backing away from the battle cruiser, and starting to swing away. The Klingons were not going to let the ship escape and the battle cruiser pursued them, disruptors blazing. Finally the _Swiftfire_ replied with two phaser blast from the emitters under the saucer section.

"Did you get through to Command?" asked Allston.

"I got a partial message out before they started jamming transmissions. I can't guarantee that it would have travelled every far."

"We outclass that battle cruiser," said Masters. The _K't'inga_ was only a battle cruiser in name; it was really only a light cruiser or a frigate. While both the _K't'inga_ and _Excelsior_ were designs that dated back to the late 23rd century in a one-on-one fight the _Excelsior_ had the edge. "If we stand and fight we could disable her. By running we give it too much of an advantage."

"I know that and so do they, that is why something about this feels off. Best we retreat."

"Two more vessels decloaking!" cried Rennie.

Space rippled as two small Birds of Prey decloaked on the opposite side of the ship from the battle cruiser. Their wingtip disruptors immediately started firing, raking the _Swiftfire_'s side.

"REPORT!" yelled Captain Allston.

"Two B'Rel class Birds of Prey have decloaked and opened fire!"

"We can't run," said Masters. "We have to engage the Klingons directly and knock some of those ships out of the fight."

A look of disappointment came to Allston's face as she ordered, "Fire whatever weapons you can bring to bare on the Birds of Prey. Bring us around to put that battle cruiser in our forward torpedo arc."

The _Swiftfire_ swung around. The battle cruiser swept over the ship firing as it went forcing the _Swiftfire_ to keeping turning to bring it back into its forward arc. The manoeuvre put the ship aft of the battle cruiser.

"We have a lock," said the tactical officer. "Preparing to fire."

Before the Giser could fire the torpedoes at the battle cruiser space wavered on the viewscreen as another ship decloaked above and in front of them.

"You've got to be kidding," Masters muttered, which was matched with at least one person's cursing.

His heart sank as the vessel fully appeared, showing it to be a _Vor'cha_ class attack cruiser. The _Vor'cha's_ main forward disruptor cannon fired, striking the ship at point blank range. Masters was thrown half way across the bridge. He got up quickly and saw several other bridge officers had been thrown off their seats including the captain, who didn't move. He rushed over and hit his combadge.

"Masters to sickbay, the captain's down!" he brushed her long dark hair from her neck and checked her pulse and thankfully found one. "Alive but unconscious. Beam her to sickbay now!"

The captain was surrounded by the familiar blue haze of a transporter as she disappeared. Masters stood; he was now in command of the _Swiftfire_.

"Report," he ordered.

"They managed to breach the shields and have damaged one of our impulse engines. We've also lost power to long-range sensors, replicators and long-range communications. Shields are back up but at only 57%."

The _Swiftfire _rocked from more hits. Masters had to even the odds and quickly. He viewed the tactical situation, the _Vor'cha_ had made its lightning pass and was behind them and turning to bring its forward weapons to bear, the BoPs were buzzing around attacking his flank and the battle cruiser was still ahead of them. The decision was easy.

"Owen, keep closing on the battle cruiser. Giser, prepare a full spread of torpedoes and target their aft shields, we have to bring them down and knock her out fast! Plus see if you can swat those Birds of Prey."

This was a critical junction in the battle. The two most powerful enemy ships currently had their backs to the _Swiftfire_, giving the ship a reprieve from their most powerful weapon systems. Masters would have preferred to try to knock out the _Vor'cha_ since it was the most powerful ship but it was to his aft.

"Torpedoes ready," said Giser.

"Fire!" he ordered.

Six torpedoes leapt from the forward launchers and slammed into the rear of the battle cruiser.

"Their shields have collapsed!"

"Fire phasers!"

The _Swiftfire's_ phasers thumped into the aft of the battle cruiser, unprotected by shields they tore into the hull causing secondary explosions. The final phaser blast caused a massive explosion that enveloped the port side, sending the port nacelle spinning free. The _Swiftfire's_ phasers did not stop tearing into the ship's hull and the ship exploded, completely destroyed.

Masters didn't really want to destroy the Klingon ship but given the odds against them they couldn't afford to play nice and try to only disable the vessel. They had to knock the ships out of the fight as quickly as possible and the best way was with brute force.

"I've also managed to cause moderate damage to one of the BoPs and they are backing off," said the tactical officer.

"Excellent, turn us to face the _Vor'cha_."

The _Swiftfire_ manoeuvred to face the _Vor'cha_. The Klingon ship got the _Swiftfire_ into its forward arc first and fired, pummelling the _Swiftfire_'s shields. The _Swiftfire_ final got the _Vor'cha_ in its forward arc and unleased its own assault of phaser blasts and torpedoes.

It was not a fair contest. The _Swiftfire's_ shields were nowhere near a hundred percent; the _Vor'cha_ would breach her shields before they would breach the Klingon's. The goal was just to weather the storm and get past the ship, once clear they would be able to go to warp and hopefully by the time the Klingons turned to follow they would have enough of a lead to keep them safe.

Suddenly two ships appeared flanking the _Vor'cha_ and opened fire.

"We have another _K't'inga_ battle cruiser and a _Kel'var_ heavy frigate! Forward shields at 12%!"

The fight was now extremely lopsided with the addition to the two mid sized warships. This was the first time Masters had seen a _Kel'var_ in the field. It was a modern frigate design that while smaller then the _K't'inga_ it was a superior warship; it was faster and more heavily armed. He would have definitely preferred if it were two _K't'inga_s out there instead.

A few more hits and their shields would be down, long before they would be clear to jump to warp. With their shields down the three Klingon ships would pound their hull until it looked like Swiss cheese.

"Divert power to the forward shields, including weapons. We have to survive the next barrage!"

Before the next barrage arrived several bluish streaks appeared and slammed into the upper forward shield of the battle cruiser blossoming into explosions.

"What the? Those looked like quantum torpedoes!"

"We have another ship on sensors; she just dropped out of warp. Sensors are picking up a Starfleet signal! The cavalry has arrived!" Rennie reported her voice filled with excitement.

Flashes of pulse phaser fire struck the Klingon vessel, breaching its shields. Masters expected to see a _Defiant_ class vessel fly into view but was surprised by the sight of an unfamiliar larger ship streak into view. It continued to hammer the battle cruiser with its pulse phasers, targeting the ships long slender neck. The neck snapped separating the bridge from the rest of the vessel.

The unknown ship managed a quick strafe of the _Vor'cha_ before its course took it past the Klingons. It launched a pair of torpedoes from a rear launcher at the _Kel'var_. With the second threat the Klingons couldn't keep their formation and both ship manoeuvred to present harder targets to hit.

"Bring the weapons back online and target the _Vor'cha_," Masters ordered. "This is our chance to knock her out of the fight."

The tactical officer quickly brought the weapons online and fired on the _Vor'cha_. The _Vor'cha_ fired back but it could no longer bring its main weapons to bear on the _Swiftfire_ with its change in position.

The unknown had looped around and came screaming back into the fray. Several normal phaser blasts lashed out at the _Kel'var_ as it tried manoeuvrer to the aft of the Starfleet vessel but the ship's main focus was the _Vor'cha_. It fired another spread of torpedoes and accompanied them with what looked like the fire from eight pulse phaser cannons. The _Vor'cha's_ shields flared brilliantly under the assault from the two Starfleet vessels. It was one of the _Swiftfire's_ phaser blasts that penetrated their shields first but that was soon joined by numerous pulse phaser blasts. All the lights on the _Vor'cha_ flickered before dying out, leaving the ship dead in space.

"Hold fire on the _Vor'cha_, she's out of it. Good work, Azihagiser," said Masters.

The Andorian tactical officer nodded. "Thank you, sir. Though I think most of the hard work was by the other Starfleet ship."

The _Swiftfire_ cruised past the disabled ship and jumped to warp.

"Did the_ Kel'var _follow us?" asked Masters. They weren't out of the woods yet, if the Klingons decided to give chase things could still get worse.

"Sensor range is still limited but I can't detect any…wait, I have a contact. It's the other Starfleet vessel. They are hailing us."

"Onscreen."

A human Starfleet captain appeared. The captain looked somewhat goofy, which wasn't helped by the wide smile on his face.

"I'm Commander Jonathan Masters, on behalf of the crew of the _USS Swiftfire_; I thank you for saving us back there."

"_No problem Commander, I'm Captain David Elliot. What do you think of my ship, the _Swiftsure_?"_

"She's an impressive ship, that's for sure. I don't believe I'm familiar with its class."

The captain's smile got even wider. _"That's because she's a prototype. Just out of the shipyards. It's a _Swiftsure_-class battle cruiser."_

No wonder he had not recognised it. It was one of Starfleet's new designs that were more combat oriented then "traditional" vessels, a sign of the times.

"She's definitely a powerful ship. What is a prototype doing out near the border?"

"_Test flights,"_ said Elliot with a wink._ "Which is lucky for you. You're message for Command did not get very far thanks to the jamming."_ Captain Elliot looked at someone off screen and nodded. _ "Sorry, I can't escort you to DS9 but I've been recalled back to my base of operations. Good luck and safe trip, Commander."_

The captain disappeared and one of the bridge officers noted that the _Swiftsure _had changed course.

It appeared that the ship was now safe, so it was time to assess the damage. "Lieutenant, damage report."

The operations manager replied, "We were pretty lucky. No major structural damage. Long range sensors are down and we've had to take the port impulse engine offline due to damage. Shield generators have received some damage as you would expect. Engineering is requesting that we take them offline. Thirty crewmembers are in sickbay, with more coming in. No fatalities."

Masters rubbed his forehead. They were lucky as Ensign Rennie had said. Given what they faced they could as easily be held captive by the Klingons or a field of disbursing atoms. "Not bad, it could have been worse. When communications are back send our status to Deep Space 9 and inform them that we have pulled out of our patrol."

* * * *


	5. Chapter 4

"Did Captain Sisko give you a reason?" asked Allston. She sat back gingerly on the couch in her quarters. She was still feeling a bit worse for wear. It also didn't help that she had received a fairly large bruise on her lower back from being thrown around the bridge.

"All he said was Starfleet Command had ordered us to Starbase 512," replied Commander Masters

The commander had been running the ship while she was in sickbay. He had seen them through their battle with the Klingons, though some thanks had to go to Captain Elliot and his timely arrival. Masters had completed his shift and had dropped by to give her a status update.

"What do you know about the starbase?" she asked.

"Our records say it's mainly a research and development starbase."

"Seems like a strange place to send us. Is it close to the border?"

"Not really. It isn't even all that close to the sections that the Klingons control so I can't see why we would be reassigned to defend it, if that is what has happened."

Allston rubbed the back of her head.

"Still hurts? You want to go back to sickbay?" asked Masters.

"NO!" Masters looked a bit surprised by her strong reaction. "The doctor is using one of those new EMH and I can't stand it. It's so irritating."

Hers was a common complaint about the Emergency Medical Hologram or EMH. The personality was not the most gracious you could experience. In fact this was the first time she had interacted with the EMH since the upgrades to the sickbay three months ago.

A smile came to Masters' face. He was an attractive man. Tall, dark, strong and handsome were common words thrown around by the women of the ship when describing her first officer. He was also a very charming, warm person who was easy to get along with.

Allston remembered the first time she met him, though he wouldn't. It was just after the Hyralan incident, after rescuing him and the crew of the _Sherman_ she had visited him in sickbay to check on him. Back then rumours flew around the ship about the man who had stood before a Romulan warbird alone and had fought for the safety of his friends and colleagues. He had not looked all that impressive laying unconscious in a biobed but his deeds spoke for him.

After transferring him off the ship she kept an eye on his career. When her old first officer moved on she had only one person in mind for the position. His service on the _Bonestell_ had proved that his actions at Hyralan were not a fluke, that he was a brave, strong, tenacious and clever as the stories of the "Hero of Hyralan" suggested. She approached him and he accepted the invitation to transfer. Over the last three years not a day went by that she wasn't glad that he had.

"Well, it's good to see your okay. I better go and get some sleep," said Masters.

"Thanks for checking up on me and bringing me up to date. And Jonathan, you did well today."

Masters thanked her and then left. Allston shifted on the couch to try and get a bit more comfortable. Masters was a good first officer, he was probably the best she had served with but she knew that it was not where he should be, he was bound for greater things and no matter how much she wanted to she couldn't hold him back forever.

* * *

Masters turned around as the turbolift doors opened and Captain Allston stepped onto the bridge.

"We're just about to hail the starbase, Captain," he reported. "Would you like to do the honours?"

He started to rise from the captain's chair. Captain Allston motioned for him to sit back down. "You've been in command of the ship most of the way, you might as well finish the job."

He bowed his head politely. "Thank you, Captain. Hail the Starbase."

"Channel open," replied Ensign Rennie.

"This is the _USS Swiftfire_ to Starbase 512. I believe you are expecting us."

"USS Swiftfire_, this is Starbase 512. Follow your current course and enter through Bay door 2. Tractor Control will then guide you to your docking bay. Heard you had a run in with a few Klingons and it looks like you could do with a bit of a patch up."_

"Thank you, Starbase 512. We are adjusting our course to match," he signed for the channel to be closed. "Helm, take us in. The ship is yours captain."

Masters vacated the captain's chair and she sat down. It had been good to sit in the chair. He would never deny that his goal was to one day be the one that the chair was for. Though currently he enjoyed the chances he had to temporarily occupy the centre seat.

The ship entered the giant mushroom shaped station and shuddered as a tractor beam locked on to guide it the rest of the way. The ship was guided into a docking bay.

"_This is Station Command. We will begin repairs at your chief of engineering's request. Captain Allston could you immediately beam over to transport room 4D. Welcome to Starbase 512, _Swiftfire_."_

Allston materialized on the station and was met by a lieutenant.

"Captain, if you'll please follow me, the briefing is about to begin," said the Lieutenant.

"Briefing? What briefing?" she asked.

"I was just told to bring you to the briefing not what the briefing was about. Now if you'll please follow me."

She followed the lieutenant to a conference room that had a pair of security officers outside. She was given a blood screen and then allowed into the room. Inside she found around a dozen officers sitting around a large table. She took a seat in the closest empty chair. Admiral Hastur was at the head of the table and stood up.

"Now we are all here we can begin. This is the current situation in the Cardassian Union; the Klingons have halted their invasion but have not ceded the territory they captured. While they have not captured any more territory they are still raiding and striking at the Cardassians and the Central Command, following the losses they suffered during the invasion, have not been able to contain the Klingons within their captured territory. The Cardassian have also requested humanitarian aid from the Federation and the Council have agreed to supply it. In three days a convoy of thirty-two ships will be leaving for Cardassia, your ships will be providing an escort for the twenty-one transports and cargo vessels from this starbase to this location along the Cardassian border."

A starmap appeared on main screen in the room. A dotted line connected two points, indicating the rough course the convoy was to take.

"This part of the border is not part of the Klingon control zone. Hopefully it will be far enough away that an encounter with the Klingons will be low."

"I assume the Cardassians will be meeting us there?" asked one of the captains.

Hastur nodded. "The Council agreed to supply the aid but the Cardassians had to supply the transports, which we are to offer protection for while in Federation territory. The Cardassians wanted us to cover the convoy all the way to Cardassia Prime but that would undoubtedly force a strong reaction from the Klingons, in the way of disruptors aimed at us."

"So what exactly is our status with the Klingons?" asked another captain. "Are we at war with them?"

"No, the Federation Council has not declared war on the Klingons and Gorwon has not declared war on the Federation. The best way to put our relations with the Klingons is, tense."

"But they attacked the _Defiant_ and Deep Space 9. I've also heard they've attacked several of our ship patrolling the Cardassian border."

"The Council is still hoping for a diplomatic outcome. Plus the incidents along the border have been over disagreements with the nature of the border, which the Council is unwilling to go to war over. Also given the threat the Dominion poses we can't afford a high intensity war with the Klingons."

"So if the Klingons attack the convoy it is unlikely to cause a war?"

"The transports won't be carrying weapons so hopefully the Klingons will leave it be."

There were unconvinced murmurs from those at the table. The Klingons were not known for caring all that much over the contents of transports.

"Any more questions? No, then this briefing is complete."

Allston stood to leave but Hastur called her over.

"I heard you ran into a bit of trouble on your last patrol."

"We did, sir. I can't tell you much, I was unconscious for much of it but I can get a report sent to you in short order."

"That would be appreciated, captain."

That seemed to be all the admiral was after but Allston had her own topic she wanted to discuss.

"Sir, there is something I'd like to add."

Hastur gave her a cautious look. "Go ahead."

"I'd like to nominate my first officer for his own command. He has served me exemplary for that last three years; he is probably the best first officer I've had."

"Sounds like he would be hard to replace."

"He will be but his future is in the centre chair and no matter how much I would like him to continue to serve under me I can't stand in the way of his destiny."

Hastur nodded, a sign that he understood what Allston was talking about. He had likely seen a number of fine officers under him who moved on to greater things elsewhere. The admiral pulled out a padd. "I see, who is your first officer?"

"Commander Jonathan Masters."

As the Admiral recorded the name in his padd he gave Allston a questioning look. "As in the Admiral Masters, Masters?"

Allston wasn't surprised that Hastur recognised the name. Both her first officer's parents were well known. "Yes, sir."

"I can see why you would say it is his destiny to command. If he is half the captain his father was he will do the Federation proud."

"I don't doubt it, Admiral. I don't doubt it at all."

Commander Jonathan Masters and his captain walked down Starbase 512's commercial district. They had been at the starbase for two days and repairs on the ship were progressing well. It was evening on the station and they had decided to take a trip off the ship to relax.

It was quite different then the promenade that he had recently visited on Deep Space 9. It was much brighter thanks to the lighter tones of a Federation facility compared to a Cardassian built one. They were headed to the station's main establishment. They had visited it before and in Masters' opinion it seemed to lack a bit of the festive atmosphere that a place like Quark's with its dabo tables and dabo girls provided. On the other hand it was probably cleaner and you were less likely to be cheated here.

"Captain Allston?"

Masters turned with his captain to see who was calling her.

"Captain Allston! I thought it was you!" said a distinguished looking man in an Admiral's uniform.

"Admiral Ross! What are you doing here? It's been what? Three years since I last saw you."

The two officers exchanged a warm hand shake.

"At least. I hear you're still in charge of the_ Swiftfire_."

"Yes. She's still running like she just came out of a shipyards. Admiral, I don't believe you've met my First Officer, Commander Jonathan Masters."

Allston gestured to him and he smiled as he took the Admiral's hand.

"A pleasure." Ross looked strangely at Jonathan. "Have we met?"

Masters cringed slightly on the inside. This was a familiar dance he had with many flag officers. "No, I don't believe we have."

"You look vaguely familiar and your name rings a bell."

That was the curse of his surname. Having both parents being prominent Admirals within Starfleet meant he had a certain level of recognition and it was almost always unwanted. He was always compared to his famous father, the great man and officer who had served the Federation with distinction for decades. It had followed him throughout his career, his fathers immense shadow always seemed to be just around the corner despite the fact he did his best to distance himself from his father and his legacy.

"The Hyralan incident. The then Lieutenant Masters holds off a Warbird long enough for over 700 men and women to escape," said a male voice.

Admiral Ross turned to another Starfleet officer who was standing off his right shoulder. "Ah, yes." Ross turned back to Masters. "That was an amazing feat. This is Commander Domique my security escort."

Commander Domique stepped forward and shook Allston's hand and then Masters'.

Ross and Allston then started to talk among themselves.

"I've read the after action reports on the incident several times, it is a fascinating tale," said Domique.

"It was an…interesting encounter," said Masters, downplaying the event as he always did.

"Interesting doesn't cut it. You held off a _D'deridex_ class warbird off with a standard _Excelsior_ class starship. You covered the evacuation of the entire crew along with the fleeing Romulans and stopped the Romulans from destroying a single escape pod or shuttle. Then you were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice to keep them safe."

Masters fidgeted uncomfortably. He was never completely comfortable with discussing the events that had occurred on that day. He wished that it would just fade away.

"It was really not all that…"

"They don't just hand out the Christopher Pike Medal of Valour for just anything. You did something great that day, something of note and you should be proud of what you did."

Pride wasn't the feeling he normally felt when he thought about the Hyralan Incident. It definitely wasn't what he felt when he saw the medal he was awarded while he was in a coma following the incident. It was something he couldn't explain to anyone, at least not fully.

Domique seemed to notice his unusual reaction and a look of suspicion came to his face.

"I can't say you look like someone who is proud of their achievements."

Masters forced out a shy smile. "No, it's just sometimes it's hard to believe, especially the medal of valour. One day I'm serving on the bridge and then the next I wake up in a hospital bed with a medal on my chest being proclaimed a hero. All I did was my duty, nothing more or less then any other officer would do."

The smile returned to Domique's face. "And humble too. That's what makes a hero great, the modest assertion that what they have done is nothing to be celebrated, that their acts were simply ordinary. Exactly what I expect from the Hero of Hyralan."

Masters displayed a sheepish grin but cringed on the inside. That was a moniker that had came about right after he woke up, Jonathan Masters hero of Hyralan. That was definitely a nickname he could live without.

They were a slight beeping noise and Domique glanced at a padd he was holding.

"Admiral, we really should be going for that meeting with Admiral Hastur," he told Ross.

Ross nodded and they all exchanged goodbyes and Ross and Domique went on their way.

"Old friends?" he asked Allston.

"Admiral Ross and my brother were at the academy together. I had such a crush on him when I was in high school. I use to always come up with excuses to be around when my brother came home to visit and brought around Will. Oh, to be young…I see you might have met your love match with Commander Domique," she joked. "He'll probably be telling his grandkids about when he met the "Hero of Hyralan"!" Masters rolled his eyes causing Allston to laugh. "Come let's go have an Aldebaran whiskey, my treat."

* * *

While Admiral Ross was in his meeting with Admiral Hastur, Domique took the opportunity to place another officer as his escort and free him from that pretence. While on his way to Deep Space 9 he received an update that told him the _Swiftfire_had been moved to Starbase 512 and he made the decision to pay the station a visit and try to see if he could run into subject 468.

Once he arrived he inserted himself as a security officer just transferred to the station and it took him a day before he ran into Masters. If it had taken any longer he would have had to seek out the commander.

While he talked to the commander he ran a covert scan of him using the specially modified datapadd he carried. The scan had confirmed the existence of the implant, just to make sure it was still there and that he was involved in Operation Ultra.

It was during his conversation with Masters that he had realised that Masters was hiding something. Domique lived in a world of secrets. He's main purpose was to safeguard the security and integrity of the section, which meant he had to be proficient in not only telling lies but in recognising them. While Masters hadn't really lied to him, he was definitely concealing something and whatever it was it was significant enough to make him nervous. All he had been able to tell was that it was somehow connected to the Hyralan Incident.

Domique had not lied to Masters when he told him he had read the reports on the incident several times or that he was impressed by Masters' actions on that day. The reports were very comprehensive and he doubted that Masters hid anything to do with the battle. He had undergone quite a bit of counselling when he had woken up from his coma and Domique had read those reports and knew that some unease he would have sensed would be from Masters' own issues about coming so close to death, but that still did not explain what he was hiding.

Then Domique had a thought, he had focused on Odo as the person who was after the information, but what if Odo was simply a means to an end. Had Masters discovered something about the operation and/or the section? If he had maybe he realised that directly seeking the information himself would not be wise. If he could get an outsider with the sufficient skills that could get the information he wanted it would offer a certain level of protection from any repercussions. Masters was added to operation ultra during his coma after the Hyralan incident, it was a possible connection.

The more he thought about it the more it seemed to make sense. It was something he would have never thought of or considered if he had just followed normal procedure and went to Deep Space 9. He did not doubt Masters was capable of it, he was the son of Admiral Dalton Masters and if he had half his old man's skill, talent and tenacity he would be more then capable. This meant that rather then a relatively minor security threat this could be something much more.

The question now was what to do about it? He would have to continue on to Deep Space 9 to check on Odo, but he doubted he would find any hard evidence to tie the two; Masters would have taken precautions and even if he hadn't Odo most certainly would have. He doubted he would be able to really prove his theory but that didn't mean he shouldn't act on it.

He would like to get some answers, in fact he specialised in and enjoyed getting answers but he couldn't see a suitable opportunity to get them. In reality he didn't necessarily need answers his main duty was to get rid of any breaches to security, in his mind that was the most important aspect of his duty. He would need a way to solve his problem. A plan started to form; he decided that the most efficient and likely most discreet method would be to get the Klingons to do it for him. He had little time to put his plan into action so he quickly logged into the stations computer and shifted himself to the engineering department, assigned himself to the necessary repair team.

A brief moment of doubt about his planned course popped in his head. He then recalled what a famous Vulcan had once said; _the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few._ As a true patriot that was all the rationalisation he needed. Nothing would stop him from completing his mission as he saw it, even if it meant the death of another Starfleet officer.

* * *

A day later the _Swiftfire_ left the station to join the convoy forming around the station.

"We have cleared the starbase. Moving to join the convoy," reported Lieutenant Owen.

"Give me a rundown of the convoy," ordered Captain Allston.

"Yes, Captain. There are twenty-one transports/cargo carriers of various types, the bulk of them are of Cardassian design. The other ten escorts are already in position. We have one _Galaxy_ class, another _Excelsior_ class, four _Miranda_ class, two _Sabre_ class and one Nebula class and…it's the _Swiftsure_!"

"What? Where?" asked Masters.

The viewscreen changed to show the ship and Masters recognised the unusual design. With the ship rather static it gave him a much better opportunity to analyse it. From other ships close by he estimated it to be around 500 metres in length. It looked like a cross between the _Norway_, _Steamrunner_ and _Akira_ class starships. It had a similarly shaped saucer as a _Norway_ and nacelles that just extended back from the saucer like on the _Steamrunner_. It also had four humps, two on the dorsal and two on the ventral sides that were similar to the _Akira_ class. At the rear of the ship it had an upper and lower weapons pod between the warp nacelles. It looked sleek and deadly. He could see two phaser arrays on the dorsal side, a large array around the bow and a smaller one on the top of the weapons top. It looked like three torpedo launchers in the weapons pod, one facing aft the others forward. From the battle he remembered seeing pulse phaser cannons firing from the front of the humps, at least two on each of the upper humps. This meant it had at least eight phaser cannons, four arrays and six torpedo launchers if the ventral hull was similarly armed. No wonder it was classed as a battle cruiser.

"Yep. That's the _Swiftsure_ all right. Looks like she going out for another "test flight"."

"Given the pasting it gave the Klingons in our last encounter I can't say I'm not pleased to see her coming with us," said Lieutenant th'Hist.

"Sir, the _Swiftsure_ is hailing us."

"On screen."

Captain Elliot appeared on the screen with a huge grin on his face.

"_Well, it looks like you made it back in one piece. Captain, I didn't have the pleasure before of talking to you."_

"I'm glad to meet you too. I must thank you for saving this ship before."

"_Like I told your First Officer, it was a pleasure. It's good to be working with you again and I hope you will not need to repay the favour. Good luck."_

"You too Captain."

The viewscreen returned to show the convoy.

"Captain, we are in position."

"Good. Hold position until Admiral Hastur gives us the order to go."

Several minutes later the convoy was in formation. Admiral Hastur's gave the order.

"_All ships, prepare to jump to Warp 6 on my mark. Engage."_

Owen's hands ran over the console and the ship jumped to warp.

* * *

The convoy dropped out of warp at the Cardassian border where it was to rendezvous with the Cardassian escorts that were to take the convoy the rest of the way. The only problem was the Cardassians weren't there.

"_This is Admiral Hastur to all ships, hold position. It appears that the Cardassians are running a little late,"_ said Hastur over the frequency the convoy was tuned to.

Captain Allston turned to Jonathan. "Damn Cardies. Can't even get here on time!"

Allston was a veteran of the war with the Cardassians and like most of the officers and personnel who fought in that war she would refer to the Cardassians as "Cardies". The two powers had a protracted struggle and when Masters went through the academy they had a number of exercises aimed towards preparing the cadets to face the Cardassians. Back then they seemed to be the biggest threat, the Klingons were allies, the Romulans seemed to ignore the Federation and no one had heard of the Borg or Dominion. Back in his first year at the academy he doubted he would have even considered the possibility that he would one day be on a mission to assist the Cardassians and help them against the Klingons.

"If they turn up at all. I'm surprised they didn't ask us to escort it all the way to Cardassia Prime," said Masters.

"They did. The Council turned them down, but they will turn up from what I understand they need this aid too much."

Time ticked away very slowly as the convoy just sat in space waiting. Then suddenly there was an explosion within the convoy's formation. Inter-ship communications went crazy.

"_The _Comet Chaser_ just brought it!"_

"Venture_, what's happening?"_

"_Klingons! Klingons are firing on us! _VENTURE_ SENDS US SOME SUPPORT!"_

"_This is Admiral Hastur to Klingon warships. This convoy is carrying medical and humanitarian aid. No weapons are onboard; I repeat there are no weapons on these ships!"_

A decidedly angry Cardassian voice cut through the chatter. _"You are trying to negotiate with these savages! Fire on those Klingon dogs before they destroy us all!"_

A chorus of voices agreed with the Cardassian's sentiment.

The Starfleet escorts held their fire as they waited for the order to engage. The smaller _Sabre_ and _Miranda_ class vessels moved into the convoy's formation trying to place themselves between the attacking Klingons and the convoy. The Cardassian convoy ships were already firing on the small, fast Klingon raiders but their weapons systems were poor.

Hastur repeated his message and the Klingons continued to ignore it. Hastur had no choice but to give the order.

"_All escorts are free to fire. I repeat escorts may engage the Klingons."_

With that the_ Venture's _Type 10 phaser arrays opened fire on a Klingon Bird of Prey that was attacking a nearby cargo ship. The rest of the escorts were quick to follow.

"_Convoy, tighten up the formation. Don't run, stay in formation so we can protect you."_ Hastur started to give individual ships their orders. _"_Swiftfire_, move in tight to the port flank of the convoy."_

The convoy was static and the best option was to tighten up the formation, which would make the job easier for the escorts.

"Sensor report," ordered the captain.

"We have five Klingon raiders attacking the convoy, three _B'rel_ class Birds of Prey and two _Brakt_ class fast attack ships," reported Rennie.

"_Brakt_ class?" asked Owen.

"They are a new type of Klingon attack ship, a modern version of the Bird of Prey. You see the ships that look like the love child of a _B'rel_ and _K't'inga_? That's it," explained Giser.

Masters remembered reading a brief report on the craft as part of the latest intelligence on Klingon forces deployed in Cardassian space and Giser's report was correct. He didn't mention that they were equipped with a large, for a ship that was around the size of the _B'rel_, forward disruptor that gave it a surprisingly heavy punch.

"Any ships in firing range?" he asked.

"Two, one BoP above the formation and one _Brakt_ to port."

"Focus on the _Brakt_ it is the larger threat."

"Open fire on them but be careful not to hit any friendlies."

That was the danger with this formation. They were close together and with the Klingons strafing from various angles it would be easy for a stray shot to hit another escort or one of the transports.

The five larger starships had taken positions around the convoy to protect it, while the other smaller ships chased after the Klingon ships trying to keep them away from the convoy or at least herd them into the fire of the larger and more powerful starships, which were positioned in front, behind, to port and starboard as well as below the convoy. The space above the convoy was covered by the four flanking starships. It made the larger ships easier targets since they were not moving but by holding their positions and with overlapping fields of fire they could offer better protection to the convoy. If they moved around it would then make it easier for the Klingons to pull their forces away from an area and open it to attack from other ships that might be cloaked or due to arrive.

"More Klingon ships can't be far away," he voiced. "I doubt they would attack if they didn't have support from some larger warships."

Allston nodded in agreement. "I agree, the Klingons love a good fight but they aren't stupid. This formation is fine for dealing with raiders but once the heavy stuff comes in they can more effectively target one of the flanks and then we'll be in trouble. The admiral must be thinking about going to warp and making a run for a Cardassian starbase or outpost."

"More ships have entered the area," reported Rennie. "Two _Vor'cha's_ and two _Felg'ra_ class vessels. They are angling in to attack the _Delaware_."

The _Delaware_ was the other _Excelsior_ class vessel in the group. It was covering the starboard quarter of the convoy.

"The Admiral's adjusting the formation," noted Masters. "The _Swiftsure_ is leaving its position and is vectoring on the new group of Klingons."

As the _Swiftsure_ moved out the _Nebula_ that was covering the bottom of the formation moved forward to cover the hole left by the ship's departure. The raiders concentrated on the _Swiftfire's_ side keeping the other ships from moving to offer more assistance to the _Delaware_. The smaller ships remained focused on the raiders. They managed to score a win, destroying one of the raiders.

The _Swiftsure_ closed on the Klingons and opened fire on one of the smaller _Felg'ra_ class vessels. In its first pass it managed to breach the smaller ship's shields and cause some hull damage but not enough to disable the vessel. One of the _Vor'cha_s turned to pursue the _Swiftsure. _The other ships continued towards the _Delaware_, reaching weapons' range and opened fire.

The _Delaware_ started to roll, presenting its underside to the Klingons.

"What are they doing?" asked the Lieutenant Owen.

"They are presenting the Klingons with their largest profile and giving the convoy the maximum shielding," explained Masters.

Then the escorts suffered to quick disasters almost simultaneously. The _Swiftsure_ and a _Vor'cha_ made a head-to-head pass at each other. Both ships beared down on each other weapons flashing and shields flaring. Both captains wanted to pound the other's shields as long as possible before they had to break off. Then something stunning happened, the _Swiftsure_ fired several torpedoes from its upper rear launcher just as it started to pull up. The last torpedo speared into the leading edge, exploding. The bow of the ship was engulfed in flames. The _Vor'cha_ continued to fire and penetrated the ship's ships, no doubt aided by the unfortunate torpedo impact. Disruptor fire raked the ventral hull and onto the ship's starboard nacelle. The engine lights died and the ship started to drift.

Before anyone could comment on this the _Delaware_ was spectacularly put out of the fight. One of the attacking Klingon Birds of Prey was heavily damaged, resulting in the destruction of its bridge. The vessel out of control and locked on its last course slammed into the _Delaware's_ starboard shields, which were weakened to reinforce its ventral shields that were under assault from the Klingons, penetrating them and striking the saucer of the vessel. The small Klingon ship tore through the hull and exploded. In a matter of seconds two Starfleet vessels were knocked out of the fight by nothing more then bad luck.

Silence filled the bridge for a few seconds, the crew shocked.

"The Admiral is ordering the convoy to start moving and prepare to jump to warp. He is moving the _Venture_ to the _Delaware_. He wants us to head for the _Swiftsure_ and beam off survivors and scuttle the ship," reported the operations officer.

Masters ordered Owen to take the ship out of position. The rest of the convoy lead by the _Nebula_ class vessel at the front of the formation, started to move, heading away from the large Klingon ships. The _Venture_ had moved to assist the _Delaware_ and to put itself between the convoy and the large Klingon warships. Two of the _Mirandas_ were also on their way to support the _Venture_.

The captain asked, "What's her status?"

"They are drifting but their shields are back up. No response to hails. One of the _Felg'ras_ is moving to intercept us."

"This is not going to be easy," said Masters. "We'll need to drop out shields when we evacuate the _Swiftsure_ and that _Felg'ra_ is going to punish us when we do. How long will it take?"

"Between thirty seconds and two minutes," said the operations manager. "Depends on how fast we can clear the transporter pads when we beam them onboard."

"Hit the _Felg'ra_ with everything we've got. Try to keep her at a distance."

As the vessels neared each other they exchanged fire. The _Felg'ra_ had a distinctive design with two spars instead of the normal single spar like most Klingon ships. At the end of each spar what one might mistake for a bridge area was in fact just weapons. The _Swiftfire_ fired an impressive barrage at the smaller vessel. The Klingon vessel returned fire but approached the battle far more cautiously after the _Swiftfire's _initial show of force. The _Swiftfire _was able to keep it at a distance.

"We've reached the _Swiftsure_. I've got through to the ship's bridge. They are reporting that the ship is suffering a systems failure due to the damage. Weapons and engines are offline."

"Tell them to drop shields as soon as we do and prepare to be beamed off. Instruct them to scuttle the ship as the last of the crew is evacuated. Get medical teams to the transporter rooms. Keep an eye on that Klingon warship, she might take the chance to quickly move in and hit both ships once our shields are down. Ready? Drop shields."

They dropped their shields, quickly followed by the _Swiftsure_. Masters felt the familiar shake that went through the ship as disruptor fire impacted unshielded hull.

"The Klingons are dropping their shields!" said Giser in surprise.

Masters was about to ask why when he heard the disturbing whine of transporter beams.

"They're beaming onboard!" he yelled. He quickly set off the intruder alert alarm.

Phasers appeared in the hands of the crew as the Klingons materialised on the bridge, someone even managed to get a shot off immediately striking a Klingons before he could move.

Masters was facing toward the front of the bridge and saw several Klingons begin to materialise. He raised his phaser to target a Klingon that had appeared near the helm. He fired as the Klingon raised his bat'leth to strike at the Owen. He fired another blast hitting a second Klingon. Masters swivelled as he heard something besides him and was just in time to see a fellow bridge officer flying towards him. The officer hit him, knocking him off his feet and sending him rolling down to the front of the bridge. He came to a stop as he hit the body of a dead Klingon. He was quick to raise his head and saw an angry looking Klingon beared down on him. He had lost hold of his phaser when he fell so he grabbed a bat'leth that lay next to the dead Klingon and hurried to his feet. Masters just got to his feet in time to parry the Klingon's attack, the Klingon swung again and Masters again blocked it. On the third swing Masters sidestepped putting the Klingon off balance and causing him to stumble forward.

Masters swung his bat'leth around to try and strike the Klingon's exposed back. But the Klingon was quick and dropped to one knee swivelled partly around to bring his bat'leth up to meet Masters' down swing, locking the weapons together. Masters was standing over the Klingon and pushed down with all his might, trying to force his bat'leth through the Klingon's defence. The Klingon smiled viciously at Master and with a loud grunt of exertion he pushed up violently. Masters was thrown back and into a wall. His head smashed into the wall, bringing stars to his eyes. He groaned and using the wall, pulled himself up. He turned and was face to face with a smiling Klingon. The Klingon drove his bat'leth through Masters' abdomen; pinning him painfully to the wall. The Klingon was so close that Masters could feel the Klingon's hot and unpleasant breath on his face. The Klingon pushed the bat'leth in harder. The bat'leth must have penetrated into the wall and hit some power couplings. The bat'leth conducted the energy back into Masters. Masters screamed in pain as his flesh burnt. He lashed out at the Klingon striking him several times in the face but the Klingon seemed to enjoy it even more. He tried a hammer blow to the Klingon's shoulders but that didn't faze him either. He grabbed the Klingon by the armour as he felt his legs weaken, putting pressure on the bat'leth that had run him through.

The Klingon leant forward, his weight crushing Masters against the wall and whispered, "This is for the warriors of the _Ma'toph_."

The Klingon then pulled the bat'leth out of Masters quickly, though he doubted it was out of any thought of mercy but rather due to the force necessary to dislodge the weapon from the wall and his flesh.

The Klingon stepped back and Masters without his support fell to his knees. He clutched at his wound that was slightly to his left side, his fingers sickeningly entered the gapping and blood slicked wound. He didn't feel any pain at that point from his wound and he quickly shifted his hand as he tried to squeeze his parted flesh together. But he could not tell how much strength he was applying and he also knew that an equally gruesome split in his flesh was on the other side of his body.

"You have fought well, like a true warrior," announced the Klingon. "And a warrior does not deserve to bleed to death like a mangy targ. Look up and I'll grant you a warrior's death."

Masters raised his head and looked up at the Klingon. He understood that the Klingon meant to decapitate him, a quick and merciful death in the circumstances.

The Klingon raised his bat'leth and prepared to deliver the killing blow. Masters, who was hunched over in an attempt to keep his insides _inside_, straightened his back. "Today is a good day to die," he said weakly.

The Klingon smile knowingly, thinking that Masters was simply putting himself in a more fitting pose and was ready to accept his death. The Klingon pulled his arms back as he prepared to bring his weapon down and then saw the true meaning behind the Masters' words.

A Klingon disruptor pistol appeared in one of Masters' blood soaked hands. The Klingon glanced down to his disruptor holster and found it empty. He looked back up at Masters in realisation as Masters pulled the trigger. The first blast caught the Klingon in the stomach, the second and third hit him high on the chest. The Klingon's grip on his bat'leth loosened and the weapon dropped behind his back as he fell to his knees. For a brief moment the two combatants faced each other both on their knees. The Klingon had a satisfied smile on his face.

"To…sto'vo'kor," he said with a toothy smile as his body fell backwards.

Masters let the disruptor fall from his grip and collapsed onto his uninjured side. He lay on the floor his eyes unfocused. He wondered if he should not have waited and fired after the Klingon started his swing and hoped that it would have enough force to finish the job instead of letting his life slowly seep into the carpet he had spent the last three years treading on.

Then a face appeared close to him. It was Giser. He was saying something but Masters couldn't hear what it was nor could he comprehend what it could be. He wasn't even sure how long he had been on the floor before this happened, it could have been seconds, maybe minutes. His concept of time had disappeared.

The tactical officer turned his head to speak at someone else then again faced Masters and continued to move his lips. He was having a hard time focusing on anything now. His eyes felt heavy. Then he noticed a new sensation, it was a sense of discomfort in his head. The tactical officer grabbed his face, not that he could really feel it, forcing him to look in his direction. Masters let his eyelids droop as he did the tactical officer suddenly turned into the dark figure of his nightmares. Masters had spent countless nights running from him but here and now he didn't. As his eyes finally closed Mastered accepted it and let the darkness take him.

* * *

Captain Allston looked around her bloody bridge. Only three bridge crew were on their feet. The rest were either dead of badly injured. She had got off very lucky. She would have been killed if not for her tactical officer, as an Andorian he was better prepared to combat the Klingons and had killed more then his share. He had stood over her after a backhand from a Klingon had knocked her to the ground and defended her with a phaser in one hand and a confiscated mek'leth in the other.

Though even he would have been overwhelmed if it hadn't been for the late, if not also timely, arrival of the Cardassian escorts. Several _Galors _and even a _Keldon_ had dropped out of warp and immediately opened fire on the Klingons. The _Felg'ra_ supplying the boarders was caught with its shields down and a brace of torpedoes and spiral wave disruptors had reduced the ship to atoms. The Klingons were driven off, losing another two ships in the process.

"He's unconscious!" said th'Hist.

He was kneeling over the body of her first officer, who was by far the most seriously injured on of the bridge crew still alive. During the chaos of the boarding she had lost sight of him, the next time she saw him he was collapsing to the floor next to an extremely bloody wall about half a minute before the arrival of the Cardassians when the bridge still had bat'leth swinging Klingons running around. She wanted to go and be by the side of her loyal subordinate but she needed to regain control of the ship and assess the situation.

"Get those transporters back online," she ordered.

"Working on it," replied Owen as he moved to the blood soaked operations' console. He wiped his sleeve over the console three times to clear up enough blood so he could use the console. She noticed that he was doing his best to not look at the death body of Ensign Rennie that lay next to the console.

That was a death she had witnessed. After the boarding action began the young Haliian ensign had stayed at her station beaming off the survivors from the _Swiftsure_. She had still been in her seat when a bat'leth separated her head from her body. Her body had slumped forward, drenching the console in blood. Willa was one of the youngest members of the crew as well as one of the most petite. Allston could not see the honour in killing such a young and tiny woman as she sat defenceless.

Owen was injured as well, he looked to have a nasty cut to his left arm, which hung by his side. "There got them. Beaming the commander to sickbay."

Commander Masters' body disappeared into a blue haze, leaving a large dark patch on the carpet.

"Report," she ordered.

"Sensors aren't detecting any more Klingons. Casualty reports are only just coming in. Including those on the bridge we have eight confirmed killed so far."

Allston wished that eight would be all but knew the toll would continue to increase.

"What about the _Swiftsure_?"

"No reports that they were also boarded. Should I restart transporting them over?" he asked.

"Request orders from the _Venture_," she said. The Klingons had been driven off and the Cardassians were now here, the need to scuttle the ship was no longer as dire.

She waited for the orders to be relayed.

"We're pulling out," reported Owen. "The _Venture_ will tractor the _Delaware_ back and we are to take the _Swiftsure_ under tractor, as long as we are able."

"Signal the Admiral that we can. Tell him it would help to transfer some of the crew from the _Swiftsure_ to our ship to assist in damage repair and manning stations. We'll leave an engineering team on the ship to monitor it during transit."

The Admiral's reply was quick. "The Admiral agrees we are to move out in ten minutes."

"Signal the _Swiftsure_ to make the arrangements. Then get yourself to sickbay and have that arm looked at." She turned to her tactical officer who was still going around the bridge checking the bodies for any sign of life. "Get these dead Klingons off my bridge."

"Yes, captain. Might I suggest you take a trip to sickbay? You might have a fractured eye socket or cheek bone."

Allston had to admit her face really hurt, but it was only a minor injury. "They'll have more then enough to worry about down there at the moment." Giser looked less then pleased. "After you get rid of these bodies grab a medkit and we'll see if I need any repairs, happy?"

He nodded and went about dealing with the bodies. At the moment given sickbay would be busy and depending on the number of body probably meant that they would be placed in a cargo bay for the time being, Allston slumped back into her chair her hand ran through her blood matted hair. She didn't really care too much, just as long as they were out of her sight.

* * *

Azihagiser th'Hist started to clear the bridge of the dead bodies. He tagged the dead Klingons and had the computer beam them into one of the cargo bays for storage. With the three dead crew he had them beamed to sickbay for them to be placed in the morgue. It was particularly gruesome when he had to move Willa Rennie's body, since he had to gather her head as well. Her face had been fairly neutral suggesting that she had not seen it coming and that it had been a swift death. But having to carry the severed head of a friend was an experience he hoped he would never have to repeat.

He came to the body of the Klingon Commander Masters had killed. Giser had seen the tail end of the battle. He saw the Klingon stab the commander against the wall and thought at that point Masters was dead. He had tried to get a shot off at the Klingon with his phaser but was tied up defending himself and his fallen captain. When he next looked over he saw the commander shoot the Klingon and then them both slumping to the ground. He had been surprised when he found the commander still alive due to the amount of blood that surrounded him.

He tagged the Klingon, again making sure he was deceased and the computer beamed the body away. Under the Klingon he found a bloody bat'leth. He had no doubt it was the bat'leth that had nearly killed Masters. He picked up the weapon, blood dripped from one tip, obviously the tip that had penetrated the commander's flesh.

He decided to keep the weapon. When Masters recovered he might be interested in keeping it as a reminder of the battle. It was something Giser did as a way to always remember what had happened. He had the computer beam the weapon to his quarters and he went back to clearing the bridge.

Several hours later the _Swiftfire_ was at Deep Space 9. A Starfleet tug had met them at the station and took the _Swiftsure_ off their hands. While at the station they received some quick repairs and transferred off the bodies of the Klingons and dead Starfleet personnel. They also transferred Commander Masters to the stations medical centre as the ship was due to immediately return to patrol duties and their sickbay was still dealing with numerous injured crew. Out of all the injuries Masters was the only one that was serious enough to warrant removing from the ship.

Lieutenant Giser organised a bag with clothes and some personal items to be beamed to the station for Masters, who was being kept unconscious. In the pack he slipped in the bat'leth he had kept from the bridge. He wasn't complete sure how Masters would react when he saw it but he felt that this was the right thing to do. Hopefully the commander would understand.


	6. Chapter 5

Commander Domique sat down and opened secured communications to the Admiral's location.

"_Is the channel secure?"_

"Yes, Admiral."

"_You can imagine my surprise when I heard you were on DS9 after you were sent to the Albyn starbase."_

Domique wasn't surprised that he knew where he was. The Admiral made sure he knew where his assets were. "I am simply continuing my investigation, sir. I assume you received my report on the attempted breach of section security by the changeling Odo?" asked Domique.

"_I have. What have you learnt about that?"_

"I can confirm it was Odo who was making the inquiries. The station's log note the damage and repair to his computer system around the time we sent the program. I have yet to determine his interest in subject 468."

"_Has he attempted to gather any more information?"_

"No. But that doesn't mean he won't. I don't trust him."

"_Just be discreet. The last thing we need is an investigation into our activities. We are meant to be a classified division. Avoid Odo if you can I've been informed that he is a very important in the Federation's overall goals in dealing with the Dominion."_

Domique nodded. Odo's importance was clear, as the only changeling on Starfleet's side he was their only source for a deeper understanding of their enemy.

"Understood."

"_I also noticed you had some rather unusual equipment shipped to the station."_

"It is simply to assess the subject, sir," said Domique. He didn't need to tell the Admiral his full plans, it was sometimes better to keep certain operational issues to himself.

The Admiral studied him for a few seconds, as if to see if he could detect any additional information from his body language or to pressure him into revealing extra information, not that those techniques would work on Domique. He was too well trained and prepared to fall for such a tactic.

"_Very well, I will trust you will do what is best in this situation."_

Domique bowed his head slightly and replied, "Of course, Admiral. I am a patriot; I will only do what is good for the Federation."

The Admiral didn't look terribly satisfied. Domique could understand his unease; it was his job to be concerned. _"Send me a report when you have completed your mission."_

With that the channel was closed. Domique sat back, he knew what he had to do, and it was clear because it was his duty. He was not lying when he said he was a patriot. He had no choice, it was who he was, who he was born to be. Sometimes patriots needed to get their hands dirty, his hands were already very dirty but he would do what was necessary, what patriot could do any less?

* * *

"What the?"

Jonathan looked around. He was surrounded by white, infinite whiteness.

"Welcome, Jonathan."

Jonathan spun around to face the voice and was greeted by the abyss. It was the dark figure that had haunted him for years. In this realm of bright whiteness it appeared as a pit, sucking in the light. The figure towered over him, its cape fluttering behind it despite the absence of any wind. Masters fought the urge to back away from it and stood his ground. If he was dead like he believed then running would not change anything.

"Do you know who I am?" it asked.

"You're the spectre from my dreams. You are death."

He stared at the face or where the face would be. Under the black hood it wore was an even deeper shadow, though he thought he could make out the outlines of large empty eye sockets and a mouth that seemed to twist into a smile. At least he thought that was what he saw.

"Do you why I have haunted you?"

"Because of Hyralan," he replied. The figure stood silently, Masters took this as a sign for him to be more specific. "I cheated you; I should have died that day."

* * *

Dr Julian Bashir checked the contents and dosage of the hypospray before he applied it to the side of his patient's neck. Nothing happened. Bashir furrowed his brow; the effects should have been instantaneous.

"Nurse, can you pass me a tricorder?" he asked.

The Bajoran nurse quickly passed him one of the tricorders situated around his sickbay. Bashir ran a scan on his patient.

"Heart rate is up. So is breathing. These readings are more akin to someone who is conscious rather then in an induced coma," he said out loud. The nurse picked up another tricorder and also started to scan the patient.

He moved his scan to neural activity. It was elevated as well; he did a more thorough scan and detected an unusual signal. At first he thought it was feedback from the nurse's scans but then realised it couldn't be.

"I'm detecting some sort of pulse. It seems to be coming from the upper left hemisphere of his cerebral cortex. Can you confirm?"

The nurse scanned as well and nodded.

"Bring me a proper neural scanner," he ordered.

"Doctor, I need an anti-intoxicant for a Benzite...what's going on?"

Bashir glanced over at Constable Odo.

"My patient doesn't seem to want to wake up. I'm also detecting a very odd pulse that seems to be coming from inside his brain."

"That is odd," said Odo as he moved to stand next to Bashir. "What kind of pulse?"

Bashir shrugged. "I'm not sure I've never seen anything like it before. Here have a look."

He showed Odo the reading from his tricorder and saw a flash of recognition on Odo's face.

"I've seen something like this before," stated Odo. "Romulan mind probes," he clarified.

Bashir looked shocked. "Romulan mind probes! They are illegal in the Federation, where would you have seen them before."

"This station wasn't always a Federation run facility, Doctor. Plus I'd had my fair share of dealing with criminal elements that don't care for the ins and outs of Federation law. Have you located the source?"

The nurse brought in the neural scanner and started to attach it to the patients head. "Not yet, that's what that is for."

Once the device was activated Bashir moved to one of the consoles nearby. He brought up the readings from the scanner. "The scanner is not detecting anything unusual. It has detected the approximate area of the origin of the signal but it doesn't detect any signs of a device. Strange." He stared at the readings closer. "It is actually two signals, one incoming and one outgoing. Nurse, try to wake him again."

The nurse applied a hypo to his neck. Bashir watched closely and saw the outgoing signal fluctuate as it was almost interrupted but the incoming remained unaffected.

"I think the incoming signal is what is keeping him unconscious."

"Couldn't you set up a jamming field to disrupt it?" asked Odo.

"Possible but I have no idea what effect that would have on the patient. I can't even seem to find damn thing the signal coming from! But if the incoming signal can keep him unconscious if he forcibly sever it I don't like to speculate what harm it could do."

"We could sweep the station looking for the source of the transmission," suggested Odo and tapped his combadge. "Odo to Ops. I need you to search for a transmission source with this particular frequency."

Odo signalled for Bashir to transfer the signal information to Ops.

"_This is Dax. I'm running a station wide scan now. I'm not picking up anything."_

"Not even from sickbay?" Bashir asked.

"_Nope. I'm only detecting the three lifesigns."_

"Three?" said Odo surprised.

"_Yes, Doctor Bashir, the nurse on duty and one patient."_

"Commander, I'm in sickbay at the moment," pointed out Odo. "And you're not reading me."

There was a slight pause. _"No, in fact I just checked the computer and it can't locate you on the station at all."_

Bashir glanced at Odo. "How is that possible?"

Odo grimaced. "I'm not a hundred percent sure but I suspect that someone has tampered with the station's sensor for the medical centre. This also makes it likely they have done the same from their end. Tricorders seem unaffected so it isn't a blanket sensor dampening but given the signal strength and frequency it would probably only be detectable within a few metres. We're going to need to sweep the station personally."

"_Do you want me to check the maintenance logs for the…"_

"I doubt you'll find anything, this whole thing is starting to look like a profession job, not one of Quark's clumsy attempts to keep out of my sight."

"Doctor," called the nurse.

Bashir turned to the nurse who was standing over the patient. He saw what she has concerned about and hurried over. Blood was flowing out of his nose.

"It just suddenly started," explained the nurse.

He ran another scan. "It seems the capillaries in his nose just burst on their own. I doubt it is unrelated. Constable, if I were you I'd…"

"Hurry, I know, Doctor," replied Odo. He tapped his combadge and turned away as he started up the search.

Bashir looked down at his patient and patted his shoulder. The latest scan showed that his breathing and pulse had increased, things were elevating. "Hang in there, Commander Masters."

* * *

"I deserved to die that day," he said. "What I did…I should have died on that bridge."

Domique rolled his eyes, though it wasn't noticed by Masters, at least while he was taking on the form of "death". Domique had read Masters' private medical and psychological reports. This dark figure featured a lot in the notes from his sessions following the Hyralan incident. Masters had claimed that the dreams with the ominous figure had stopped but his counsellor at the time had noted that he was unconvinced at the veracity of Masters' claims; it seemed that he had been correct.

"What about Ultra?" he asked.

A look of confusion came to Masters' face, "What?"

"What about Ultra?" he repeated louder. His voice was deeper then normal and echoed around him. Domique enjoyed how it sounded.

"I don't know what you…"

Domique felt the anger rise in him and he took a step forward, "Don't lie to me!"

Masters stepped back, fear flashed in his eyes. "I…I don't know what you mean?"

He raised his black gloved hand and pointed threateningly at Masters. "You are hiding something from me. Tell me the TRUTH!"

"I really…" before he could finish something strange happened. Masters appeared to stretch back as it he was about to jump to warp speed before he snapped back. He stumbled forward.

Confusion and fear covered his face as he looked over his body. "What the HELL was that?" he cried in panic.

Someone had tried to sever the connection, Domique realised. He didn't know if it was specifically aimed at cutting the connection or if it was a by-product of something the doctor on Deep Space 9 was doing. He silently cursed himself for not acting sooner and giving himself more time but he had thought that the good Doctor Bashir wouldn't do anything for another day or two at least.

His connection to the Enigma implant was secure and the transmissions between him and the device was meant to be undetectable against normal background radiation, plus on a busy space station it would be even harder to detect. The implant itself was meant to be next to impossible to detect, it had to be, it was designed to sit unnoticed in a persons head for months or years without detection from neural scans. He had to work fast, the less time he was here the better.

Masters body again stretched back is if make of elastic. The doctor would definitely know something was wrong. This increased the risk of the accidental severing of the connection and if that happened Masters would instantly die. He had to work fast.

Domique quickly moved and grabbed Masters by the front of his shirt and lifted him.

"I grow tired of these games! Tell me what I want to know!"

Terror filled Masters' eyes and he started to deny any knowledge. Domique shut him up with a sharp punch to the nose and threw him to the ground. If Masters wasn't going to do it the easy way, fine, Domique enjoyed the hard way anyway.

Masters looked at his fingers, they were covered in blood. He couldn't understand this, if he was dead why was he bleeding and why on Earth did his nose hurt so much! The dark figure was after something but he didn't know what. Then he realised, if it was really death what could he possibly tell it?

"What's the hell is going on?" he demanded. "If this is the afterlife shouldn't you know all there is to know about me if you are going to judge which section I'm going to spend time in? Or is heaven trying a new honour system?"

The dark figure's boot lashed out narrowly missing his head and hitting his shoulder. Again that really hurt.

"INSOLENCE! You will tell me what you are hiding about Ultra! What do you know? Who have you told? Who is involved?" it shouted as it delivered a boot into his chest, winding him.

This was sounding more like an interrogation. What if he wasn't dead? He had heard of techniques that placed a person in a simulated reality to confuse them. What if the Klingons had in fact captured him?

"Who are you?" he forced out meekly.

"You know who I am!" it bellowed.

Masters struggled to his knees. "I know who you are supposed to be. You're a figment of my imagination, be it one that seemed able to kick my arse, but a figment none-the-less. None of this is real, I don't know who you are or what you want but I won't betray my oath."

The dark figure let out possibly the most terrifying laugh he had ever heard. Despite the infinity openness of his surrounding the laugh surrounded him, making him feel claustrophobic.

"You have already betrayed it!"

As the figure rambled Masters found himself wishing he was still on the bridge of the _Swiftfire_ bleeding to death, at least he understood that. Out of nowhere a door came into existence behind the dark figure. It looked very much like the standard starship doors. Masters didn't know where it came from but it had to be better then where he was now. He just had to make it to the door.

The dark figure reached down and grabbed him by the shoulder to heave him to his feet. As he did Masters pushed off the ground hard, smashing into the dark figure. Both tumbled to the ground. Masters thankfully found he was free of its grip and leapt up and ran for the door.

Domique was not happy, though he was impressed, as he watched Masters run for the door that had appeared behind him without his notice. He had never found a person who figured out how to change the environment before. It was also as good as a confession of Masters' guilt. Only someone with knowledge of the device would be able to do what he had done.

His original plan involving the _Swiftfire_ would have most likely meant he would never have known for sure if Masters was a threat or not. Given his profession and position it wasn't really something that mattered all that much. It was often far better to quietly deal with a situation and never ask any questions. It was better to be slightly over protective then to deal with it in a completely ethical fashion. Better ten innocents die then one guilty person breach security and escape. It went against what the Federation believed in, its ideals but he had come to accept that for paradise to exist that sometimes you needed the wicked to help protect it. There was no doubt in his mind he was wicked. He had done things in his career that meant he would never be given a medal and no official recognition of his selfless contributions to society but that didn't matter. The only reward he wanted was the continual existence of the Federation. That was all he needed since the day he was born.

Domique got to his feet. He no longer cared for an explanation from Masters; it was time to end this. This was going to be a bit more challenging but also a lot more fun then he previously believed.

Masters paused in shock after he went through the door onto the bridge of the _Swiftfire_. Bodies littered the room, both Klingon and Starfleet. He saw the faces of friends staring lifelessly upwards. Blood soaked everything. He slowly turned his head taking it all in and then he saw himself. He was slumped against the wall covered in blood. He walked through the sea of bodies to his own and knelt down and cautiously outstretched his hand and touched his copy's face. He then touched his own face with his other hand and they felt the same. His eyes were open and he could see his chest moving, his copy wasn't dead but he was dying.

What was he doing here? Why had that door led him here? Was it another trick by the dark figure? Masters then remembered wishing he was on the bridge, dying. He looked around and understood what he saw around him, this was what he wanted.

"I wish the other bodies were gone," he whispered and just like on a holodeck they faded away and he was alone one the bridge with himself and one Klingon. He looked at the copy of the Klingon he had killed. His face was exactly as he remembered it, happy. Only a Klingon would be happy to be killed in a fight. He felt a flicker of pride that the Klingon considered him an honourable opponent enough to offer him an honourable death that they seemed obsessed about.

He heard the whoosh of opening doors behind him. He spun around and saw the dark figure enter. It paused and looked around, was that surprise he saw? It was hard to read the emotions of someone who had no fathomable face.

Master looked down and saw a bat'leth, he grabbed it and stood. The noise got the dark figure's attention and it turned to face him.

Was that another smile he saw in his empty features?

"Ah, you didn't run. Your records said you weren't the type to abandon a fight."

Its hand extended and formed a long silver sword. Masters raised his bat'leth into what he hoped was a suitable defensive position. He then noticed the blood dripping from just one tip and realised it was his own, this was the weapon that had nearly killed him. That was rather disconcerting but he pushed that thought out of his mind.

"Shouldn't you have a scythe?" he asked. "It is the traditional tool carried by the Grim Reaper," he clarified.

The dark figure spread out its arms and replied, "I think we can agree I am not your traditional angel of death."

Masters nodded. "True. I wish you'd disappear," he said.

The dark figure cocked its head in confusion before letting out another soul freezing laugh. "If only it was that simple for you. You cannot wish me away, Jonathan. I will only leave when I want to."

"I doubt you'll want to stay once the pointy end of this and your arse meet."

Masters didn't wait for the dark figure to reply; instead he charged forward letting out a roar that would make a Klingon proud.


	7. Chapter 6

Odo was getting close and he could feel it. His tricorder still couldn't detect the signal but he knew he was close, his "gut" told him. Suddenly the tricorder picked up a weak signal. It was the same as the one Dr. Bashir found in the infirmary. Odo stopped and moved in a slow circle trying to get a bearing on the signal. He got a bearing on the signal and went after it. A careful few metres down the corridor he came to doors to a set of quarters that his tricorder was indicating was where the signal was coming from. He pressed the door chime but got no response, not that he expected one. He removed the door's control panel to give him access to the code pad. He put in the doors unlock code.

"_Code incorrect,"_ said the Computer.

It seems like the room's occupant had changed the code. But this didn't matter; Odo had a code hidden deep in the stations system, which meant he could open any door. He punched in the code.

"_Security override initiated."_

The door slid open and Odo carefully stepped into the room. He was surprised by the state of the room. The room was full of complicated looking equipment. In the middle of it all was a table with a man strapped to it. Odo spotted what appeared to be the main console. He tapped his combadge.

"Odo to sickbay."

"_Bashir here."_

"Doctor, I've found the source of the signal," said Odo as he started to play with the console.

"_Can you shut the signal off?"_

"I'm trying, the control system is encrypted."

"_Can you break the code?"_

"I don't know. But I'll try."

"_You'll need to do it in a hurry. I'm not sure what is happening but the commander appears to be experiencing serious physical exertion and his synaptic levels are going crazy. I can't seem to stabilise or slow its progress down. I doubt his mind or body can take more then a few more minutes at these levels."_

Odo grimaced. He wasn't sure if that would be enough time. "Do what you can, doctor," he replied and turned his full attention to the task at hand.

* * *

Masters stumbled backwards. He was having no success in overpowering the dark figure. To make it worse he was fatiguing fast, his muscles felt like they were on fire. His vision was also starting to blur, he wouldn't be able to fight for much longer.

The dark figure didn't seem at all fatigued by their battle, which was discouraging. The figure advanced swinging its sword left and right, each blow Masters intercepted but each time he felt his strength being sapped.

The figure swung again, Masters deflecting it just to his left. The blow was forceful and it dragged his weapon to the left, twisting his body. He felt a hard boot connect with his side, knocking him painfully to the ground.

Masters tried to get back to his feet but his legs felt heavy. The figure towered over him.

"You were a good match, probably the best I have ever faced. But in the end it was a futile attempt, you can't win when you don't know the rules."

"What happened…to a fair fight?" struggled out Masters, his chest heaving.

"Men like us never fight fair," commented the figure as it raised its sword high to drive its tip down and through Masters.

Masters knew he had one chance and put all his efforts into that and prayed. The figure drove down the sword, but it only travelled a few centimetres before stopping. The figure tilted its head up to see its hands were caught in a noose that descended from the ceiling. Masters took this moment of confusion and stabbed forward with the tip of his bat'leth.

The figure grunted as the tip sliced into it. It looked back down at Masters; even with a featureless face Masters could see the surprise. Masters stood up, pulling the bat'leth up as he rose. The sharp blade sliced upwards and opening up the figures stomach. Masters pulled out the tip and stepped back. The figure stood still for a moment before it let go of the sword and dropped to its knees. The darkness around the figure blurred and disappeared. It revealed a Starfleet officer slumped on his knees, arms dangling by his side, head drooped.

Masters took a second before he recognised the man. "Commander?" asked Masters surprised.

"Hello, Commander," replied Domique as he slowly and with what appeared to be a great deal of effort, raised his head and gave Masters a sadistic smile. "Surprise!"

Masters shook his head as if it would clear his mind and make what was happening make sense. One good turn of events was that his heart rate was dropping and his vision was becoming clearer.

"What is going on? Where are we?"

Domique's face showed a great deal of strain before it dropped back down. He was obviously having problems with keeping his head up.

"Inside your head," he replied talking at the ground.

"How?"

Domique laughed. "The implant of course," he said as if explained everything.

"Why did you do this?"

"With that last thrust I would have killed you here, which would have killed you in reality. Not that this really matters," he said to himself, not replying to Masters' query.

"Why did you do this?" he asked again.

"I'm a patriot, I had to do it."

Masters nearly splat in disgust over that comment.

"Patriots don't kill others who are working to safeguard the thing they are patriotic to!"

"They do if that person is a danger to security of their society."

"Danger! How?"

Domique's eye looked up and he glared at Masters as if to say that he didn't appreciate the question. Masters just stared right back, his face a vision of barely controlled fury.

Domique suddenly started to flicker.

"What? Someone is tampering with my equipment. This can't be…"

Suddenly Domique disappeared and everything went black.

* * *

Domique opened up his eyes to see Odo and several other security officers standing over him.

"Odo. I should have known," he said weakly. He felt like he was dying but knew that thanks to the safeguards in place he couldn't be killed in the simulation in Masters' mind but he had never experienced a case where he was "killed" before. It was one of the most painful and distressing experiences in his life. He had felt a wash of pain over him that had broken his concentration and had collapsed the image he had been producing. The equipment that allowed him to interface with the implant and enter Masters' mind gave him a certain level of control, but the subject had a natural ability, while his was forced and required far more effort. The experience had revealed his true form.

It had also seemed to set on fire his every nerve and he had felt almost paralysed, leaving him slumped on the ground in front of Masters. Since he was invading another mind he needed a way out and that way was to tap his combadge and say a specific phrase but thanks to the paralysis he could barely raise his head let allow moved an entire arm and do something as specific as tap a small object on his chest.

That's why in fact Masters' victory was meaningless. For all he had to do was abandon Masters' mind and then he could command the implant to cause an aneurism in Masters' brain, killing him. Then he could retrieve the implant before the doctor did an autopsy and the situation would be solved. It was a simple operation but within a second it had totally collapsed.

"Well, Commander Domique, you can consider yourself under arrest for attempted murder," said Odo.

This had not turned out anything like he thought it would. He had no idea how Odo had found him but he must have an idea what he was up to. Domique felt embarrassed that he had not even managed the Admiral's simple request to remain discreet. There was no way that could happen now. He would be taken into custody, interrogated and his equipment would be confiscated and examined. There would be a significant investigation that the section would not be able to avoid. It would probably be the end of the section and that could not be allowed to happen. Their mission was too important to the future of the Federation. He had only one option, only one way to at least minimise the fallout of his complete and utter failure.

"I'm loyal. I'm a patriot. You understand loyalty don't you Odo? We are very alike."

Odo scoffed. "I don't try to murder people."

"You killed one of your own people to defend others, because of your loyalty to your friends. I'm doing the same."

"I did it in self defence. He gave me no choice."

"I had no choice either. I have no choice," he took a deep breath and said loudly, "Don't count your chickens before they hatch."

A panel on the machine he was connected to opened. Domique could not see it as he had closed his eyes but he knew what was going to happen. He heard Odo yell a warning just before a slight whine that would be the last sound he would ever hear.

Odo looked up to see a panel open in the machine. It had to have been voice activated but whatever it was it wasn't something good.

"TAKE COVER!" he yelled to his deputies in the room.

But he didn't need to bother. A phaser blast shot out hitting Domique and vaporising him immediately. It was a suicide trap.

"Auto-destruct in 10…9…8…" said the machine.

Odo didn't know how much explosive was in the machine. It might just be enough to destroy the inner working of the machine or it could destroy the entire room and open it to vacuum. He quickly signalled his personnel out of the room. Odo and the security officers rushed out of the room and sealed the door just before there was a loud explosion.

Odo tapped his combadge. "Odo to Dax, send a damage repair team to my position."

* * *

"So what's the verdict, Doctor?" asked Masters.

He was laying back on a biobed in the infirmary. It seemed that after everything went black he had woken immediately. In fact it had been several hours since Commander Domique had killed himself after trying to kill him. Bashir had performed a bit of brain surgery before waking him.

"You'll live. No brain damage either from removing that implant in your brain," said Bashir.

"Implant in my brain…" said Masters shaking his head. Hearing it out loud made it sound ridiculous. He had had a tiny implant hidden inside his brain for who knows how long and a few hours ago someone had used it to try and kill him. It all sounded like a holonovel.

"What did you do with that chip that was in my head?" he asked.

"We've kept if for the investigation into these events. Unfortunately when we removed it the implant fused itself. It's a total loss, which is a pity because it is a rather fascinating and amazing piece of technology."

Masters scoffed. "I doubt you'd feel that way if you had the damn thing in your brain. It was in my brain!" he said still shocked.

"Good news is you'll be back on duty in no time," said Bashir.

"When is the _Swiftfire_ due back?" Masters asked.

The ship, after dropping him off on the station, had returned to patrol the border.

"I'm not sure," said Bashir. "After you get some rest I can let you go and you'll be able to see Captain Sisko about that."

Masters wanted to argue that he had been unconscious for several days, if there was one thing he didn't need was rest. However, he had just fought a hand-to-hand battle with "death" so the doctor's orders didn't sound so bad. He closed his eyes, unsure what he would dream about.

Masters stepped off the turbolift and into the operations centre of Deep Space 9. He saw Major Kira and Dax. Dax walked towards him

"The captain's in his office," she said pointing it out. Her expression was strangely neutral.

"Thank you," he said.

It was a day after the incident with Commander Domique. After another night in the infirmary Bashir had finally let him leave. He had come straight to ops.

The doors to the captain's officer opened and he stepped inside. Captain Sisko was seated behind his desk.

"Commander Masters, have a seat."

He sat opposite Sisko. "Captain, I was wondering when the _Swiftfire _was due back?" he asked.

Sisko's expression was solemn, which was not a good sign.

"The _USS Southern Cross_ has just sent back a transmission from its patrol. It was approached by the _Wo'tang_, a Klingon _Torath_ class starship."

Masters raised his eyebrows. "Approached by a _Torath_! The captain of the _Southern Cross_ is lucky; those ships are big and nasty warships."

The _Torath_ was a large Klingon warship, similar in design to the _Vor'cha_, they favoured a heavier torpedo load out then the _Vor'cha_ and were deadly ships, at least according to intelligence reports he had read. He was thankful he hadn't found out first hand whether the reports were accurate or not.

"They told the captain of the _Southern Cross_ that the _Swiftfire_ had been destroyed for violating Klingon borders. The captain of the _Wo'tang _then beamed over several pieces of wreckage that confirmed this, including the ship's log."

Masters felt his heart constrict as he heard this. This was quickly followed by a red hot anger. "Violating borders! The Klingons keep changing them!"

Sisko held up his hands in a signal for Masters to calm down. "The changes in the border were made and noted two days after the Klingons attacked this station. The _Swiftfire_ would have received the updated borders days ago. It would seem that they violated them on purpose."

"On purpose?"

"The Klingons boarded your ship and killed over fifty people a few days ago. Captain Allston might have done it to exact some revenge."

Masters couldn't believe what the captain was suggesting, but he contained his anger. "No, I know the captain and she would never do that. The Klingons must have lured her into their territory to destroy her."

"According to the logs the ship just crossed into Klingon space and was engaged and destroyed. There is no sign of it being lured; it simply crossed into Klingon space."

"Maybe they didn't get the updated borders."

"Our logs indicate that that information was sent over to the ship before you were reassigned to Starbase 512 for convoy protection."

"The damage from the battle during the convoy mission…the computer might have been damaged; the new border information might have been corrupted. Captain Allston would not just go in looking for a fight," said Masters, more to convince himself and rationalise what had happened then to argue with Sisko.

"From her records I agree. We will never know what really happened but I'm more inclined to believe it was a computer error."

Masters was seething. He knew the crew and was sure that it was not an aggressive move by them.

"The logs, they could have been tampered with."

"The Chief didn't detect any tampering," Sisko must have seen he was about to argue more and held his hand up again. "But that doesn't mean they weren't. The log buoy was damaged so it isn't outside the realm of possibility that any tampering could be disguised by the damage."

"Survivors?" he asked. Even before he did he knew the answer.

"The Klingons said there were none."

Masters dropped his head into his hands. "What now? Where am I to go?"

"I'll have some temporary quarters assigned to you until Command give you new orders."

Masters just stared down at his hands for a few seconds. He could feel the tears welling in his eyes; his anger had given way to grief for his lost comrades and friends. He didn't want to believe it was true.

"It is a tragic loss, Commander," continued Sisko. "If you want to talk to someone I can arrange for our counsellor to see you."

Masters nodded. "I'll consider it, sir. Right now I think I just need some time to process this. After what's happened to me recently I'm still a bit all over the place."

Sisko stood and walked around his desk, Masters got to his feet and accepted the outstretched hand of the superior officer.

"Once again, I'm sorry Commander. I'll keep you informed if anything further develops."

Masters exited the captain's office shocked and stunned by the news. He quickly walked to the turbolift so he could get out of there, so he could get somewhere private. He saw Dax out of the corner of his eye look to intercept him before he left, but then she changed her mind and stayed at her station. As the turbolift descended from ops the first tear of many ran down his cheek.


	8. Epilogue

"Jonathan, wait!"

Masters turned to see Dax running towards him.

"I heard you were leaving. And I see you were trying to sneak off without saying goodbye."

"Sorry, you were on duty and I didn't want to disturb you."

Dax gave him a look of disbelief. "Why would it be a disruption to say goodbye to a friend?"

Masters dropped his gaze. He was embarrassed at what he had tried to do. He felt sorry for himself and just wanted to vanish and it wasn't fair to Dax. "Yes, you're right. Sorry, my head's just all over the place at the moment."

Dax squeezed his arm reassuringly. "I understand better then you think. I've had seven life times of loss to deal with. It never gets easier. So you're on your way back to Earth?"

It wasn't hard to figure out how Dax knew. He was about to board a transport on its way to Earth.

"There is nothing for me here," he said. "Command wants me to take the Advanced Tactical Training course at the Academy in the next semester. Then I'm going to get my first command."

Dax's eyes lit up and her mouth dropped open. "Your first command! Congratulations." Dax wrapped her hands around Jonathan and gave him a hug. "I knew you'd get one sooner rather then later. So what are you going to do between now and when the course starts?"

"I have plenty of leave saved up so I think I'm going to cash some of it in and just relax and reassess what I'm going to do."

"Reassess? What does that mean?"

Masters had to avert his eyes from Dax's. Her gaze was probing and he didn't want to discuss it. "I just need some time to think about this…about my future."

Dax opened her mouth to say something and then seemed to reconsider. A look of compassionate understanding came to her face.

"I hope you find your answers and whatever they are make sure you keep in touch."

"Thank you, Jadzia. I'll be in touch."

There was a call for the last of the passengers to board. He looked at Jadzia, she might be younger then him but she would understand more about life then he ever would. She was really a special person.

"I better get onboard before the captain comes out and yells at me," he joked.

Jadzia gave him another hug. "Good luck, Jonathan."

"You to, Jadiza."

Masters turned and walked towards the airlock. As he stepped into it he turned to Dax and waved, she waved back as he turned his back he missed the look of sorrow and concern that came to Dax's face. A look that said that she was unsure if she would see or hear from him again.

Soon the shuttle had all its passengers and departed the station. Masters watched through a window as they moved away from the station before it disappeared as the shuttle entered warp. He settled into his seat for the journey and thought about the event of the past week. His mind moved to the future and he realised how uncertain the future was, not just his future but also the future of the entire Federation.


End file.
